India, Seychelles talk maritime trade, blue economy at Business Roundtable in Mumbai: All you need to know

Maritime trade, sustainable development, and the blue economy were the buzzwords on everyone's mouth at the Indo-Seychelles Business Roundtable held on Saturday in Mumbai.

The event was headlined by Seychelles President Dr Patrick Herminie and Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW) Sarbananda Sonowal, and celebrates 50 years of diplomatic ties between the two nations, which began as maritime links.

Notably, the MAHASAGAR vision—the Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions—is a core aspect of the relations between India and the East African nation. Its stated aim is to boost economic cooperation, sustainability, and security in the Indian Ocean.

“India and Seychelles share a common vision of the Indian Ocean as a region of peace, stability and shared prosperity,” said Sonowal.

He added that India’s experience in port-led development, logistics, maritime services, and renewable energy was the perfect complement for Seychelles’ growing development priorities.

He then specifically talked about Mumbai, noting that Mumbai’s strengths as a port city—its ports, logistics networks, maritime services, shipyards and financial ecosystem—made it a natural platform to advance India–Seychelles ties in maritime trade and ocean-based industries.

In fact, the shipping ministry recently announced that the city's iconic eastern seafront is poised for a massive makeover, with maritime, business and tourism projects worth Rs 22,672 crore lined up.

This includes the Viksit Bharat Mumbai Marina, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Convention Centre, RoPax and Cruise terminals, Skilling institutions, public waterfront spaces and oil berths at Jawahar Dweep. 

Organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in collaboration with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the event also saw senior officials, business leaders, and industry representatives from both countries in attendance.

This included Vijay Kumar, Secretary, MoPSW; Shyam Jagannathan, Director General of Shipping; Captain B.K. Tyagi, Chairman & Managing Director (CMD), Shipping Corporation of India (SCI); M. Angamuthu, Chairperson of Mumbai Port Authority (MPA); Gaurav Dayal, Chairperson, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA); and Rohit Rathish, High Commissioner of India to Seychelles.