đź“· Photo: Remih via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
VICTORIA, Seychelles — President Patrick Herminie arrived at La Reunion’s Roland-Garros airport shortly before 14:00 on 13 July as the official guest of honour for France’s Bastille Day commemorations on the Indian Ocean island, the Seychelles presidency has confirmed.
The president was received by civil and military authorities and reviewed a guard of honour on the tarmac before being driven to his accommodation. A Seychelles presidency note released ahead of the trip frames the visit as part of a longer arc of regional cooperation in the western Indian Ocean, anchored by shared Creole heritage and a renewed focus on maritime security, marine biodiversity, and the blue economy.
Herminie’s programme is heavy on institutional meetings. On 14 July he will attend the official Bastille Day ceremony at Le Barachois in Saint-Denis alongside Huguette Bello, the president of the Reunion Regional Council, before signing what both governments describe as a bilateral cooperation agreement between Seychelles and the French overseas territory. Two working visits follow: a stop at the addiction-medicine service at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Bellepierre, and a visit to the Regiment du Service Militaire Adapte, the French military insertion corps that trains young Reunionnais.
The Seychelles Defence Forces will also take part in the 14 July military parade, the presidency said, deepening an already substantial schedule of joint activities with their French counterparts in the region. A statement issued by the Seychelles presidency before departure described the visit as a meaningful expression of the longstanding ties between Seychelles and France, citing the 50th anniversary of Seychelles’ independence this year and the parallel anniversary of diplomatic relations with Paris. France’s ambassador to Seychelles, Anne Tallineau, has framed the visit in similar terms.
The Reunion Regional Council’s communications team confirmed that Bello will hold bilateral talks with Herminie in Saint-Denis, with the agenda including maritime safety, the fight against drug trafficking, the protection of marine spaces, and joint approaches to biodiversity and sustainable development.
The sea is the future of our land, Herminie said in a statement ahead of the trip, describing the blue economy as an essential lever for island peoples. Bello, for her part, called the encounter a meeting rooted in friendship and cooperation in the Indian Ocean, pointing to the shared history, including the legacy of slavery, and the close human links between the two populations.
The visit runs from 13 to 15 July. The two governments are expected to issue a joint communique once the cooperation agreement is signed.
Sources cited: Africa-Newsroom, “Seychelles: Le president Herminie effectuera une visite officielle a La Reunion,” July 2026; Seychelles Nation, “Visite officielle du President Dr Patrick Herminie a La Reunion,” 14 July 2026; State House of Seychelles, news and announcements.
Source: SN
