France has several overseas territories in the IOR [Indian Ocean Region], of which Réunion is the most populous—with 900,000 inhabitants, more than many sovereign IOR nations, including Seychelles and the Maldives. It is also the richest, with a GDP of about US$25 billion, higher than those of the surrounding countries, including Mauritius and Mozambique. Réunion, Mayotte, and the smaller, uninhabited Scattered Islands (located in the Mozambique Channel) constitute a strategic region that allows France to project itself as a European, African, and Indian Ocean nation altogether.
The SWIO [South-Western Indian Ocean] and East Africa represent India’s most dynamic area of economic cooperation with the continent. Indeed, the first two of India’s top five trade partners in Africa are in the SWIO: South Africa and Tanzania. While South Africa trades significantly more with China than with India, New Delhi holds a competitive advantage in Tanzania, due to its exports of pharmaceuticals, machinery, and petroleum products. The Indian diaspora, numbering around 55,000 in Tanzania, also plays a role in bolstering these ties. Additionally, Mauritius is the second largest source of foreign direct investment to India (after Singapore), accounting for 9 percent of all FDI to India in FY 2024-2025.