Israel–Seychelles Relations

The relationship includes diplomatic representation and development training.[1][2] Security transfers and tourism links have formed additional areas of contact.[5][6] Seychelles received Israeli-supplied large weapons during 2006–2010, although the available account does not specify their types or quantities.[5] Air connections have provided another practical dimension: the direct service announced in 2019 was intended to strengthen business, tourism, and cultural ties between the countries.[6]

Israeli representation has been handled through multi-country ambassadorial portfolios rather than by a separate ambassador based in Seychelles.[1][7] A May 2016 listing identified Seychelles as a non-resident posting covered by Israel’s ambassador in Kenya; that listing describes the arrangement at that time, rather than establishing its current details.[1]

Seychelles recognized Israel in September 1992, the same month recorded for the establishment of bilateral relations.[8][1] This occurred within a broader period of expanding Israeli diplomatic engagement with Sub-Saharan Africa: Israel’s ties with countries in the region dated from the mid-1950s, diplomatic relations were gradually renewed from the 1980s, and official ties had been re-established with forty countries south of the Sahara by the late 1990s.[9]

An episode at the UN General Assembly illustrates an instance of diplomatic cooperation: when Seychelles’ delegation temporarily had to leave New York, it deputized an Israeli representative to act for it for the day, and he voted in favor of an Israeli proposal.[10] Seychelles was also an Israeli aid recipient.[10]

In August 2025, Gideon Behar set off for Nairobi to serve as Israel’s ambassador to Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi, and Seychelles.[11] A separate report states that Michael Lotem completed a three-year tour covering the same five countries that month; the sources do not clarify the exact transition date.[11][7]

Four participants from Seychelles attended training in Israel during 2010 under MASHAV activities: two in education and two in community development.[2] The activity report does not provide a Seychelles-specific total for other forms of assistance.[2] Security cooperation also included Israeli supplies of large weapons during 2006–2010; Seychelles appears among nine recipient countries listed for that period, but the account gives no Seychelles-specific weapon types or quantities.[5] A separate account likewise lists Seychelles as a recipient of Israeli weapons during those years without supplying further details.[12]

Direct air links had an earlier history before the service announced in 2019: flights operated for roughly two years about a quarter-century before November 2020, then ceased because demand was insufficient.[13] In July 2019, Air Seychelles announced a Tel Aviv–Seychelles service scheduled to begin on November 27, with one flight in each direction every Wednesday.[6] The schedule was designed to connect through Seychelles to Mauritius, Johannesburg, and Mumbai, while a planned interline partnership with El Al would provide onward connections to more than twenty European destinations through Ben Gurion Airport.[6]

The resumed service followed Air Seychelles’ acquisition of Airbus A320neo aircraft.[13] By November 2020, the airline was operating four weekly flights between Israel and Seychelles, with an increase to five anticipated during Hanukkah; Israeli airlines had also begun serving the route.[3] The expansion occurred as Seychelles reopened to tourists from countries it classified as green during the COVID-19 pandemic.[3]

In August 2023, Air Seychelles flight HM22, carrying a full load of Israeli passengers from Seychelles to Tel Aviv, diverted to Jeddah because of a technical problem.[14] The aircraft landed safely, the Israeli Foreign Ministry monitored the situation, and a replacement aircraft was sent from the United Arab Emirates to bring the passengers back.[14]

Air Seychelles suspended flights to Israel for approximately six months in 2024, but around 3,500 passengers reached Seychelles through the Israeli travel company Spirit World Productions during that year.[15] By February 2025, Spirit had signed a new agreement with the airline ahead of renewing the direct route.[15] Seychelles tourism marketing director Bernadette Willemin described the Israeli market as strategically important and said that, following a decline in Israeli visitors in 2024, early 2025 brought increased bookings and renewed interest.[15]

An Air Seychelles–Etihad connection between Seychelles and Abu Dhabi was also planned to offer six weekly flights from May 23, 2025, allowing passengers from Israel to combine the two airlines on one ticket through Abu Dhabi.[15] In June 2025, direct Israel–Seychelles flights were expected to resume on August 1 following a suspension.[16] Preparations for that return involved sustained work by Spirit World Productions and its continuing cooperation with the Seychelles government and Air Seychelles, including during the COVID-19 crisis and the period after the war began.[16]

In July 2025, Seychelles was among six African countries where Israel Allies Caucuses were launched, alongside Ethiopia, Ivory Coast, Lesotho, Gabon, and Guinea-Conakry.[17] These were faith-based parliamentary groups formed as part of an effort to strengthen ties with Israel; their launch did not itself establish specific bilateral agreements or actions by the Seychelles government.[17]

At the United Nations, Seychelles supported several resolutions concerning Israel and the Palestinians in 2023.[18] It voted for resolution 78/73 on UNRWA operations, adopted by 165 votes to four with six abstentions, and resolution 78/78 concerning Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and the occupied Syrian Golan, adopted by 149 votes to six with nineteen abstentions.[18] It also supported resolution 78/170 on Palestinian and Arab population rights over natural resources, adopted by 158 votes to six with thirteen abstentions, and resolution 78/192 on Palestinian self-determination, adopted by 172 votes to four with ten abstentions.[18]

In 2024, the General Assembly considered sixteen Israel-related resolutions, fifteen adopted by recorded vote and one by consensus.[19] Across the recorded votes, Seychelles voted opposite the United States thirteen times, was partially aligned once, and was absent once; the reported voting-coincidence figure was 7%.[19] These figures compare Seychelles with the United States and do not provide a resolution-by-resolution account of its positions.[19]

The General Assembly adopted thirteen Israel-related resolutions by roll-call vote in 2025, with Israel and the United States opposing all thirteen.[4] Seychelles voted opposite the United States on twelve and was absent on one, with a reported voting-coincidence figure of 4%.[4] This, too, is an aggregate comparison with the American position rather than a detailed account of Seychelles’ vote on each resolution.[4]