Calling on deepening ties, India accords President of Seychelles Danny Faure with ceremonial welcome

NewsBharati    25-Jun-2018
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New Delhi, June 25: Calling on a deep-rooted relationship with India, Seychelles President Danny Faure, who is on his first bilateral visit to India, will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi reviewing the wide-ranging cooperation between the two countries, including in the fields of defense and security.

 

President Faure, who arrived in Delhi today after visiting Ahmedabad and Goa, was received by Minister of State for External Affairs MJ Akbar. On his arrival, Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted, "Connected by 'SAGAR' - Security and Growth for All in the Region"! President of Seychelles Danny Antoine Rollen Faure warmly received by MoS @mjakbar at Delhi airport on his first bilateral visit to India."

President Danny Faure landed in Gujarat Friday as part of his six-day India tour. He visited the Sabarmati Ashram on Saturday, where Mahatma Gandhi lived between 1917 and 1930. He also visited the Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIMA), where he held a meeting with the institute's director, Errol D'Souza. The visit comes just days after Faure said a joint project with New Delhi to develop a naval base at Assumption Island in his country would not move forward.

The President on arrival to New Delhi was accorded with the ceremonial welcome by the President of India Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The relations between both the countries share a beneficial connect with shared values and commitment to the ideals of democracy and development.

After according the ceremonial welcome, Seychelles President Danny Faure along with EAM Sushma Swaraj discussed on expanding bilateral cooperation in all areas, especially capacity building, human resource development and people-to-people contacts.

Although there has been growing political opposition in Seychelles to an agreement it signed with India in 2015 to develop a naval facility at the island which would have given New Delhi a strategic advantage in the Indian Ocean Region.

President Faure's state visit is slated to be a part of regular high-level exchanges between India and Seychelles. This will accord an opportunity to review wide-ranging bilateral cooperation including in the fields of defense and security and development partnership, the MEA had earlier said.
At a press conference on June 4, Prez Faure had said Seychelles will develop military facilities at the island on its own and that the project with India "will not move forward". He had also said the issue would not be discussed with the Indian leadership during his visit to New Delhi.
India was keen on developing the Assumption Island as a naval base to expand its footprint in the strategically-key region where China has been trying to enhance its military presence. The agreement on the Assumption Island between India and Seychelles was first signed in 2015 during PM Modi's visit to Seychelles. An updated version of the original deal was finalized by the two sides earlier this year.