Establishment of maritime centres in Madagascar and Seychelles |31 March 2015

Comesa supports agreement to ensure maritime security

A bilateral agreement between Seychelles and Madagascar on the establishment of two maritime centres has received the support of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa).

This was during the 14th meeting of the Comesa Ministers of Foreign Affairs held on March 28 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Secretary of State Ambassador Barry Faure called for members to provide their support to this bilateral agreement to enable these centres to be established in the Indian Ocean region. He informed the meeting that the agreement came to fruition earlier this month, following numerous discussions between the involved parties.

The centres are to be financed under the Maritime Security Programme (Mase), a European Union-funded initiative costing 37.5 million Euros that promotes maritime security for the region of Eastern and Southern Africa and the Indian Ocean (ESAOI).

Mauritian Foreign Minister Etienne Sinatambou strongly expressed his support of the agreement, and called for the establishment of a legal framework for data storage and sharing based on international standards.

The meeting of Foreign Affairs ministers noted that appropriate applications would be filed by the two member states to the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC) secretariat, which has the mandate to establish these centres to combat maritime insecurity.

Seychelles was represented at the meeting by Ambassador Faure, Ambassador Claude Morel, accredited to Comesa, Ambassador Joseph Nourrice, resident ambassador to Ethiopia and the African Union, as well as officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Transport.