Africa-Press – Seychelles. From November 6 to 10, Seychelles successfully hosted the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium, bringing together representatives of 22 navies as part of the IONS-IMEX exercise organized by France in partnership with the Seychelles Defense Forces, notably the Seychelles CoastGuards.
Vice Admiral Emmanuel Slaars, Commander of French Forces in the Indian Ocean and Commander on the Nivose, shared that France is chairing the Indian Ocean Sailors Symposium this year. “IONS is an Indian initiative that began in 2008, bringing together 25 countries. Its objective is to increase maritime cooperation between the navies of states bordering the Indian Ocean region by providing an open and inclusive forum to discuss regionally relevant maritime issues. In the process, it aims to create a flow of information between marine professionals that could lead to common understanding and possibly cooperative solutions for the future. At the end of the year, we will hand over the presidency to Thailand.”
For the exercise in Seychelles, he added that “this year, we are bringing together 22 navies and three observers in Port Victoria around the use of software, financed by the European Union, which will allow us to continue to exchange as on WhatsApp with automatic translations of the information that will be in the maritime centers of each country. This will make it possible to be more effective in the face of the risk of oil spills, save human lives and also to dialogue together.”
For this exercise, four scenarios were developed to test the dialogue system and the system itself. The scenarios included a burning liner with passengers, a plane crash at sea, marine pollution, and the liquefaction of cargo on a freighter putting everyone’s safety at stake.
Regarding drug trafficking, Vice-Admiral Emmanuel Slaars said that the French navy makes numerous seizures in the Indian Ocean, reaching on average 200 to 400 million euros of products per year, with the help of the Seychelles Coast Guard.
Brigadier of the Seychelles Defense Forces, Michael Rosette highlighted the strengthening of the link between the French Navy and the Seychelles Coast Guard, particularly in the fight against drug trafficking. “Our exercises have yielded positive results for years, even though we have seen increases in drug trafficking in the region. We work together on marine pollution and other issues.”
Seychelles can be proud to have been chosen as the host country for this symposium, welcoming 62 sailors from 22 nations and three observer countries, added Brigadier Rosette. To successfully carry out this exercise, prior training was necessary.
The French Ambassador to Seychelles, Ms Olivia Berkeley-Christmann, underlined that “your presence at this exercise, in this archipelago in the heart of the Indian Ocean, is testimony to this ongoing dialogue between sailors. It is often said that sailors, even from different countries, have more in common than with the soldiers of their own country’s land or air components. You just need to see yourselves gathered together this evening to be convinced. Flows in the Indian Ocean are increasing, and the challenges that accompany them are numerous: illegal fishing, climate change, piracy, illegal trafficking of all kinds, maritime security, accidents and pollution. The special links that you are forging today, between sailors living along the Indian Ocean, must make it possible to manage crises at sea with each other tomorrow: assistance to ships in difficulty, search and rescue, management an oil spill or a natural disaster. As is the case among sailors from across the Indian Ocean, I hope that you can be proud to say at the end of this week in Seychelles: ‘Together, we embody the Indian Ocean’.”
The French Ambassador to Seychelles also particularly thanked the delegation of the Indian frigate INS Sharda which contributed enormously to this exercise by providing a building. France and India cooperate on maritime security.
She wanted to thank Brigadier Rosette and his team, demonstrating that interoperability between neighboring forces in the Indian Ocean is a crucial issue and a guarantee of ever greater regional cooperation. “The organization of this exercise here in the Seychelles is proof – if any were needed – of mature cooperation, marked by mutual trust and respect between neighbors. In my capacity as French Ambassador, I hope that the relationships of trust established between France and the Seychelles will be reflected in the eastern and western borders of this region of the world. THANKS,
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