📰 India’s Strategic Deals with African Island Nations
🤝 India’s Island Partnerships in Africa: Strategic Deals, Not Ownership
India’s presence in the Western Indian Ocean is growing — not through ownership, but through strategic partnerships and bilateral deals with key island nations like Mauritius, Seychelles, and Madagascar. These agreements focus on security, infrastructure, trade, and regional stability.
🇲🇺 Mauritius: Agalega Island Deal
India and Mauritius signed a deal for India to build an airstrip and jetty on Agalega Island.
Purpose: Enhance maritime surveillance, fight piracy, and improve connectivity.
Agalega remains sovereign Mauritian territory. India only operates with permission.
This project strengthens India’s role in the southwestern Indian Ocean.
🇸🇨 Seychelles: Assumption Island Agreement
India signed an agreement in 2015 to develop naval infrastructure on Assumption Island.
Purpose: Improve security against Chinese naval expansion, piracy, and illegal fishing.
Although the deal faced political resistance in Seychelles, India still helps with radar systems and coastal monitoring.
🇲🇬 Madagascar: Humanitarian and Naval Cooperation
India signed deals for:
Maritime domain awareness
Disaster relief operations
Deployment of INS Shardul (Indian Navy) for medical and food aid.
India also opened a Foreign Military Training Team (FMTT) program in Madagascar.
🔍 Why These Deals Matter:
India is positioning itself as a net security provider in the Indian Ocean.
These partnerships help counter China’s influence in the region (like its military base in Djibouti).
They promote regional development, free trade routes, and peaceful cooperation.
