India, June 28 -- Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday invoked the shared India-Seychelles ties while addressing the island nation's parliament in Victoria, referencing the "samosas, celebration of Deepavali and the Garbha dance during Navratri".

Modi, who became the first Indian Prime Minister to address the Seychelles parliament, invoked the first Indians to arrive at the island more than 250 years ago, saying their stories have become a part of the modern story of the Indian Ocean nation.

"Our friendship did not begin 50 years ago with the establishment of our diplomatic relations. It began much earlier, in August 1770. There were five Indians among those who arrived on board the ship Thelemaque at Ste Anne Island. That voyage show...