India will be gifting a patrol vessel worth Rs.100 crore to Seychelles Coast Guard during the first high-level virtual meeting between India and Seychelles on Thursday. The meeting will be presided over by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and newly-elected Seychelles’s Indian-origin President Wavel Ramakalwan who came to power in October 2020.
The 48.9 m Fast Patrol Vessel which is built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineering, will be utilized for multi-purpose operations such as anti-smuggling, patrolling, anti-poaching, and Search & Rescue (SAR). The Vessel was delivered to Seychelles on March 16 and the official handover of the same shall be done during the virtual meet on Thursday at 5 pm. This Patrol vessel will be the 4th ship to be gifted by India to Seychelles and is christened as PS Zoroaster. the other three are namely- PS Topaz(2005), PS Constant (2014), and Patrol Boat Hermes (2016)
India is also going to hand over a 1 Mega-Watt Solar Power Plant to Seychelles at Romainvile Island. the plant has been undertaken as part of the ‘Solar Photovoltaic Democratization Project’ which is being implemented in Seychelles by the Government of India under grant assistance. Several other projects are to be inaugurated in this virtual Summit including The New Magistrates Court Building and the inauguration of 10 High-Impact Community Development Projects (HICDPs).
The New Magistrates Court-Building in the capital city Victoria is India’s first major civil infrastructure project in Seychelles built with Government of India Grant assistance. The Magistrates court building is a state-of-the-art building. as per an official statement,it will substantially enhance the capacity of the Seychelles Judicial System and will further aid in better delivery of judiciary services to the people of Seychelles.
Seychelles stands at the center in the PM Modi’s vision of SAGAR- ‘Security And Growth for All in the Region’. During his tour of Indian Ocean countries back in 2015, Seychelles was the first destination following which he visited Sri-Lanka and Mauritius. Seychelles has also been one of the first beneficiaries of India”s covid assistance and the country had received over 4 tonnes of life-saving medicines.
Also Read: China holds naval drills near Taiwan; Time Taiwan amps up prep against potential Chinese invasion
