DC Edit | India, Seychelles Bond Stronger
Mr Modi’s assurance on behalf of India that the partnership is not to be defined by size is a telling comment that should have pleased Seychelles whose aspirations to build a sustainable Blue Economy remain high. Along with the pledge also comes umbrella aid and an economic package of $175 million plus crucial materials like cement and rice
With a landmass of 460 sq km, the Seychelles archipelago of 115 islands may be small in territory, but it put on a mega show of welcoming India as a defence, security and valuable technology, development and social partner. In laying out the red carpet for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the country was celebrating its deep ties with India, built over the last 50 years after it gained independence, whose jubilee was celebrated with gusto, with the Indian Army and Navy bands also participating.
The islands, widely perceived in India as primarily a holiday paradise for sun seekers, were not feting India’s leader for its economic heft so much as the crucial maritime partnership over decades that has given Seychelles a sense of security as it presides over wide sea lanes on one of the world’s busiest routes. India’s help with maritime capacity in patrolling vessels and boats for Seychelles’ security has been a model in regional cooperation.
Mr Modi’s assurance on behalf of India that the partnership is not to be defined by size is a telling comment that should have pleased Seychelles whose aspirations to build a sustainable Blue Economy remain high. Along with the pledge also comes umbrella aid and an economic package of $175 million plus crucial materials like cement and rice.
It is a sign of the times that apart from all the marine capabilities that India has helped bolster as the island-nation guards its economic zone in the Indian Ocean that Seychelles wishes to improve its AI architecture, cybersecurity which is assuming huge importance these days and outer space as well, towards which India has promised to help. India may not be among the world’s largest powers in chasing AI for the future as the USA and China are currently, but it has the human resources to help everyone develop to enjoy the positive fruits of the new technology.
The India-architected UPI payment system, also a tool that is serving the present while welcoming the future, is also a crucial element in a growing partnership that will straddle nine areas of well-defined cooperation, including in crime prevention.
