Jaishankar Meets Indian-origin Seychelles Prez Ramkalawan, Conveys PM’s Personal Message

India’s External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar called on Seychelles President Wavel Ramkalawan on November 27. Jaishankar thanked Ramkalawan for meeting with him and said that he conveyed a personal message from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the Seychelles president. Jaishankar said he assured Ramkalawan that the Indian ocean country holds a place of priority under India’s “Neighbourhood First policy” and “SAGAR outlook”. SAGAR mission was launched by India after the COVID-19 pandemic hit in order to assist its neighbours in the Indian ocean. Seychelles, Maldives, Mauritius, and Sri Lanka were among the first countries that received help from India to battle the deadly disease. India aims to assist the IOR (Indian Ocean Region) countries with COVID-19 vaccination programme when it is available. Ramkalawan was elected as President of Seychelles on October 25 this year, a first such victory for an opposition leader since the country became independent in 1976. Seychelles returned to the multi-party democracy in 1992 and Ramkalawan, whose grandfather was from Bihar, India, became one of the first opposition members in the national assembly.