‘Seychelles a key partner for India’
“On the occasion of the 74th Republic Day of India, I convey my heartfelt greetings to all the citizens of India, persons of Indian origin and to the friendly people and government of the Republic of Seychelles.
“The Republic Day is celebrated every year as our National Day, when India’s Constitution came into force, making it a sovereign, democratic republic in January 1950. It is the day when we gave substantive meaning to our political identity after achieving independence in 1947.
“For all Indians, this is also the day to celebrate the core values of the Constitution of India ‒ Justice, Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity – outlined in the Preamble of the Indian Constitution and sacred to all Indians. These are also the noble foundational values that India shares with the Republic of Seychelles, both pluralistic, democratic and diverse nations, connected through the great Indian Ocean.
Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav
“India also celebrated 75 years of its independence in 2022. During these 75 years India has emerged as a proud nation of over 1.35 billion people and a major global player in almost every field of human activity while remaining steadfast to the values that bind the nation. Over the last 75 years, India has made many great strides in ensuring the economic and social well-being of its people and contributed to the global peace, security, and prosperity.India’s achievements in the field of space, information technology, pharmaceuticals and service industry are well recognised. To celebrate these 75 years of growth and development, a plethora of events were held under the umbrella of ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav.’
“In Seychelles, the High Commission of India organised several cultural events, in order to create a platform for the local populace to interact and celebrate the achievements as a global community, including art exhibitions, traditional food festival, special yoga sessions, essay and poetry competitions, cycling and badminton tournaments as well as cultural music and dance extravaganzas.
Atmanirbhar Bharat
“As a mature democracy, India believes in its efforts towards self-reliance. The government andthe people work towards building an ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ or Self Reliant India. This is not an inward looking philosophy, but a campaign where India has tried to convert crises into opportunity by striving to become self-reliant or ‘Atmanirbhar’ in various sectors and thereby help others. Covid-19 pandemic is a prime example of this.
“India, realising the graveness of the situation, stepped up onto the world stage and became the ‘Pharmacy to the World’ by developing initially developing Covaxin and later other vaccines. It also manufactured Covishield and supplied the countries in need with adequate doses to fight the virus. 50,000 doses were gifted to Seychelles along with essential medicines under Mission SAGAR. India today is one of the largest producers of masks, PPE kits, ventilators, oxygen concentrators and have supplied medicines and vaccines to over 160 countries of the world.
“We are proud to have played our part in helping Seychelles become one of the most vaccinated countries of the world. It is an honour for a self-reliant India to provide a helping hand when needed.
G20 presidency
“In 2023, India commences its G20 presidency in earnest. Being a global forum for influential world leaders, G20 provides India an opportunity to expand the reach of the developing world and broaden the themes of discussion, thus making it inclusive.
“The priorities for India’s presidency will be Inclusive, Equitable and Sustainable Growth, LiFE (Lifestyle For Environment), women empowerment, digital public infrastructure and tech-enabled development in areas ranging from health, agriculture and education to commerce, skill-mapping, culture and tourism, climate financing, circular economy, global food security, energy security, green hydrogen, disaster risk reduction and resilience, developmental cooperation, fight against economic crime, and multilateral reforms. All these priorities are fully embodied in the theme of India’s G-20 Presidency – ‘One Earth, One Family, One Future’.
Voice of Global South Summit
“Towards working for this goal, India hosted the virtual ‘Voice of Global South Summit’ from January 12-13, 2023. It has ministerial level participation from 125 countries in 8 sectors. The Republic of Seychelles was represented by Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Climate Change of Seychelles, H.E. Mr Flavien Joubert in the Environment Ministers’ Session with the theme ‘Balancing Growth with Environment Friendly Lifestyles (LiFE).’
“Elucidating the challenges faced by small island development states in general and Seychelles in particular, and highlighting that environmental consciousness will always remain synonymous with Seychelles, Minister Joubert emphasised the need for greater solidarity and serious commitments towards sustainable solutions and future. As Prime Minister Modi stated about the deliberations in the summit “all these ideas, shared by the wider Global South, will provide inspiration to India as it tries to shape the agenda of the G20, as well as in our own development partnerships with all of your nations.” India will work steadfastly for these goals in the Amrit Kaal.
Friends and partners: India and Seychelles
“India and Seychelles enjoy deep and friendly bilateral ties. Seychelles is a key strategic partner for India in the Indian Ocean region. India is viewed as the foremost partner for development aid and capacity building by Seychelles.
“Bilateral relations strengthened further in 2022 with substantial engagements across several sectors. India reaffirmed the ideals of SAGAR and ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy in Seychelles through reinforcing the bilateral development, particularly maritime security, health, education, local government, defence and cultural relations. Main events of note included port calls by ships, joint military exercises, gifting of defence equipment, supply of buses under line of credit, strengthening connectivity, organising of cultural and sports activities for diaspora and locals, signing of memoranda of understanding (MoUs) for High Impact Community Development Projects (HICDPs), gifting of medicines, book donations and so much more!
“Today, both the countries are also working closely at the bilateral, regional, and international forums on variety of issues such as piracy, international terrorism, illegal and unauthorised fishing, drug trafficking, human trafficking, and other white collar maritime crimes such as tax evasion which are posing constant challenges to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of nations. Both countries support each other in issues relating to climate change. India has and continues to stand steadfast with Seychelles as a close friend and a reliable all-weather partner, be it assisting in securing its maritime borders or realising its developmental aspirations for the growth and prosperity of the Seychellois people.
“I am confident that this friendship between the people of India and Seychelles will continue to flourish and achieve greater heights.
“Once again, I congratulate all my fellow citizens and friends of India on our 74th Republic Day!
“Long Live India-Seychelles Friendship!
Source: Seychelles Nation