Indian naval ship Trikand to visit Seychelles |24 June 2016
Coinciding with the Seychelles National Day celebrations and to mark the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Seychelles, Indian naval ship Trikandwill be visiting Port Victoria from June 26 to June 30.
A 26-member marching contingent and the internationally-acclaimed Indian Naval Band embarked onboard the warship will take part in the National Day parade on June 29, 2016.
During the port call, the commanding officer of INS Trikand Captain Arjun Dev Nair and his accompanying senior officers from the Indian Navy will call on the Chief of Defence Forces, Brigadier Leopold Payet, secretary of state for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Barry Faure and other senior officers from the Seychelles People’s Defence Forces (SPDF).
While in Seychelles, a joint training exercise with the Seychelles Coast Guard is planned, besides several sporting, social and charitable activities in which the ship’s officers and crew members will be taking part. After departing Seychelles on June 30, the ship will return to Port Victoria on July 19-20 en route India.
The deployment of INS Trikand adds yet another chapter to the strong defence and maritime cooperation between India and Seychelles. The Indian Navy has been undertaking biannual deployment towards surveillance of Seychelles’ EEZ in joint operations with the Seychelles Coast Guard for the past few years in pursuance of a defence cooperation agreement between the two countries. The last such deployment was by the state-of-the-art P8I maritime reconnaissance aircraft in March 2016. The present visit of INS Trikand, a stealth frigate, is part of its two-month long deployment in the Southern Indian Ocean in keeping with the government of India’s vision of SAGAR – Security and Growth for All in the Region.
The Frigate, a frontline warship of the Western Fleet of Indian Navy based in Mumbai, has a displacement of 4,000 tonnes. With a maximum speed of 30 knots, INS Trikand is capable of accomplishing a wide variety of missions, primarily finding and eliminating enemy submarines and large surface ships.
While docked in Port Victoria, the INS Trikand will be open to visitors on Sunday June 26 from 1pm to 6pm. All are cordially invited.