India’s External Affairs minister calls on President Ramkalawan |28 November 2020
Minister Jaishankar during his meeting with President Ramkalawan (Photo: Thomas Meriton)
he Minister for External Affairs of India, Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, yesterday called on President Wavel Ramkalawan, for a brief courtesy visit, in which he conveyed his government’s congratulations to the newly elected President, and discussed the priorities and commonalities between the two countries.
The minister, who is on a two-day official visit to Seychelles as of yesterday, expressed to President Ramkalawan a personal message on behalf of the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, also formally inviting President Ramkalawan to visit India in 2021.
Considering the close relations between the two countries, on the table were discussions about the tourism sector, by engaging and opening up avenues for Indian investors to invest in the local tourism industry and promoting Seychelles as a tourism destination to Indian nationals, in addition to common challenges with regard to maritime security.
“We did a tour of the horizon. I think it is important as a new government for India to know our priorities as a new government. We went through a tour of the horizon of the cooperation between the two countries in different domains. As you know, there are many things which we are doing with India, and then, we looked into how we can further extend the relationship, by broadening and deepening the relations,” the Minister for Foreign Affairs & Tourism, Sylvestre Radegonde, said after the meeting.
“We share the same ocean, and we share the same challenges. Drugs is one of those challenges, as well as activities related to fishing such as illegal fishing. Therefore we looked at how, within the regional context, we can cooperate to address these challenges, that we share,” Minister Radegonde stated.
Minister Jaishankar was accompanied to State House by High Commissioner of India to Seychelles General Dalbir Singh Suhag, and Minister Radegonde.
Laura Pillay