Pakistani navy extends a hand of friendship to Seychelles |08 January 2018

The naval forces of Pakistan showcased their willingness for greater cooperation with the Seychelles through a dinner hosted last Friday, January 5, onboard the PNS Khaibar.

The event formed part of a series of activities conducted by the two visiting Pakistani navy ships -- PNS Khaibar and PNS Nasr -- to mark their goodwill visit to Seychelles.

PNS Khaibar, commanded by Captain Ehsan Ahmed Khan, is a guided missile destroyer while the accompanying PNS Nasr, led by Captain Rehan Ali,is an auxiliary and logistic support ship.

Their stay in our port spanned from January 3-6.

Fostering friendship between the people of the two countries was the key purpose of the soirée, whereby invited guests and Pakistani navy officers and crew members were encouraged to mingle and interact.

Chief among the invited guests were Minister Maurice Loustau-Lalanne, Minister Pamela Charlette, Fleet Commander of the Seychelles Coast Guard, Lieutenant Colonel Leslie Benoiton, and the Mayor of Victoria, David André.

Also present were uniformed officers of the Seychelles Coast Guard, dignitaries, Pakistanis residing in Seychelles, representatives from Pakistani-owned Habib Bank (Seychelles branch) and other high officials.

The mission commander of the visiting naval ships, Commander of the 9th Auxiliary and Mine Warfare squadron,Commodore Javaid Iqbal, gave a speech before the dinner where he expressed his gratefulness for the warm hospitality the navy ships received during their stay in Seychelles.

Commodore Iqbal also reflected on Pakistani-Seychelles bilateral relationship and stated: “Pakistan and Seychelles enjoy deep-rooted relations which are based on universal principles of brotherhood, friendship, harmony and equality.”

“Notwithstanding the thousands of miles that separate our two countries, it is the ocean which unites us and that makes us maritime neighbours to each other.”

He continued by stating that naval forces have played a pivotal role throughout history of strengthening the bonds of friendship between maritime nations.

Thus far, five Pakistani navy warships have visited Seychelles over the last five years and the commodore stressed that these port calls help to identify ways to augment the existing Seychelles-Pakistani relations especially in terms of defence and security.

“I am very confident that relations between the two countries are bound to grow further and strengthen manifold in the coming years,” the commodore rounded off.

The speech was subsequently followed by a cake-cutting ceremony and dinner.

Prior to the Seychelles, the two Pakistani vessels were on a goodwill mission to South Africa and will now be heading to Mauritius for yet another.