The MoU on maritime information exchange was signed by the director of the Seychelles-based Regional Coordination Operations Centre (RCOC), Sam Gonthier, and the director of the India-based Information Fusion Centre – Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR), Rohit Bajpai. With this agreement, Maritime safety and security within the Indian Ocean are set to increase and both countries will reap the benefit.
The MoU on maritime information exchange was signed by the director of the Seychelles-based Regional Coordination Operations Centre (RCOC), Sam Gonthier, and the director of the India-based Information Fusion Centre – Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR), Rohit Bajpai. With this agreement, Maritime safety and security within the Indian Ocean are set to increase and both countries will reap the benefit.
This two-year agreement aims to promote maritime safety and security collaboration, as well as exchange cooperation of personnel, information, technology, and best practices. Both parties will be able to share information and develop capabilities through training in operational information-sharing, maritime domain awareness, and sharing of best practices through the conduct of seminars, workshops, and or tabletop exercises on maritime security, safety, and information sharing.
There is a substantial increase in drug trafficking, illegal migration, human trafficking, and illegal wildlife trade, as well as IUU (Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated) fishing. Having more partners in maritime security means that one gets more information coming in, allowing law enforcement agencies to know where these illegal vessels are and respond. RCOC already has partners such as the EUNAVFOR, the UK as well as all the signatory countries. India has a lot more vessels than all the partners put together which can help the rest with patrolling when needed, said Gonthier. Seychelles has a vast territory of 1.4 million square kilometers and is unable to patrol this territory without new partners. Gonthier said that since the pirates in the Indian Ocean have changed their operations from piracy to drug and human trafficking, this collaboration will empower Seychelles.
In his address at the virtual signing of the MoU, IFC-IOR’s Bajpai acknowledged the pivotal role being played by RCOC in coordination with the Regional Maritime Information Fusion Centre towards strengthening the regional maritime security architecture in the western Indian Ocean region. He outlined that the Indian Ocean’s status as an international trade highway is becoming more significant than ever before and the number of challenges that accompany this is also increasing. Maritime security in the Indian Ocean region necessitates continued collaboration and information sharing, he said.
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https://trendsnafrica.com/sustainable-fisheries-seychelles-dff-and-fiti-sign-agreement/
In 2018, seven neighbouring states of the western Indian Ocean signed two agreements to establish an architecture for maritime security to promote collaboration and improve maritime security in the region. This led to the establishment of the Regional Coordination operation Centre and the Regional Maritime Information Fusion Centre based in Madagascar. The MAZE agreements as they are called, make provision for partnership with the wider region. It is within this context that the MAZE Agreement steering committee approved the signature of an MoU with the IFC-IOR in December 2021. Gonthier shared that countries such as Somalia, Yemen, Tanzania, Mozambique, Angola, and Namibia are also interested in entering the MAZE Programme.
