India-Seychelles High-Level Bilateral Meeting on Fisheries and Blue Economy
The Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying (MoFAH&D), Government of India, hosted a high-level bilateral meeting on 25 August 2026 with a delegation from the Republic of Seychelles. The Seychelles delegation was led by H.E. Mr. Wallace Cosgrow, Minister of Fisheries, Agriculture and Blue Economy, while the Indian delegation was led by Dr. Abhilaksh Likhi, Secretary, Department of Fisheries. The meeting included senior officials and institutional representatives from both nations reviewing existing frameworks and establishing a collaborative roadmap for sustainable marine resource utilization.
Both sides emphasized the deep-rooted maritime partnership between India and Seychelles, recognizing fisheries and the blue economy as critical pillars for driving economic growth, generating rural employment, and fostering sustainable development. The Indian delegation highlighted India's landmark achievements, including national fish production reaching 19.7 million tonnes and seafood exports valued at USD 8.46 billion. India also detailed its ongoing initiatives in sustainable fisheries management, responsible harvesting practices, and technology-driven infrastructure development.
The comprehensive agenda covered diverse technical areas for potential joint development, including marine aquaculture (mariculture), modern hatchery establishment, tuna fisheries optimization, stock assessment, advanced post-harvest engineering, and comprehensive marine conservation. Both countries explored opportunities for knowledge transfer through technical studies, fisheries extension services, and formal institutional training programmes.
A significant focus was placed on accelerating innovation and digital transformation, with delegations exploring partnerships in fisheries data systems, monitoring, control, and surveillance (MCS) infrastructure, and deployment of emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) in harvest management. Additional emphasis was laid on value chain development for tuna processing, product diversification, and sustainable fish waste management.
Both sides agreed on the necessity of a structured annual work plan, regulatory alignment, accelerated commercialization of joint scientific research, reciprocal laboratory access, and collaborative design of impactful pilot projects. The Seychelles delegation expressed keen interest in accelerating implementation through a bilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) exclusively in fisheries and aquaculture with an advanced work plan, emphasizing institutionalized engagement frameworks for continuous communication between administrative bodies, researchers, and technical experts.
The meeting concluded with both sides underscoring the value of mutual exposure visits, specialized technical exchanges, and cross-leveraging of national Centres of Excellence to build institutional capacity and propagate international best practices, reaffirming a shared vision to translate diplomatic commitments into result-oriented action plans for long-term maritime prosperity.