India will support Seychelles in building a new Coast Guard facility on Assomption Island, President Dr Patrick Herminie has said.
He said the development followed his recent official state visit to India.
The president explained that Seychelles and India share the same ocean. Therefore, he said several islands of the Seychelles archipelago hold strategic importance. He referred to Assomption and Aldabra, located in the south-west of the Indian Ocean and close to a main trade shipping route.
Dr Herminie said illegal activities take place in that region. These include drug trafficking, illegal fishing and human trafficking. He added that Seychelles does not currently have the capacity to patrol that area.
He said: “Malagasy people comes here and set camp, same as for Comoros whereby they poach turtles, among other illegal things.”
Meanwhile, the president confirmed that, through the maritime cooperation, Seychelles has joined the Colombo Security Conclave alongside India and Sri Lanka, among other countries.
As part of this cooperation, India committed to assist Seychelles in building the Coast Guard facility on Assomption.
Dr Herminie said: “This will be a coastguard facility and not a military base for India. In fact the subject of military base was never raised even during the meeting I had with Prime Minister Modi.”
He also confirmed that there will be no Indian military base on Assomption or on any island within the Aldabra group.
In addition, Minister for Environment, Climate, Energy and Natural Resources Marie-May Jeremie said construction will follow environmental regulations. She chairs the Assomption and Aldabra Intersectoral Task Force, which oversees environmental protection linked to the ongoing Qatari hotel development project on Assomption.
The minister noted that the development remains under review by a commission of inquiry chaired by Justice Mathilda Twomey. The commission is examining all aspects of the Assomption Island development project.
The project had been on hold for several months under an environmental prohibition notice. However, it has recently received limited approval to carry out certain works in line with the initial Environmental Impact Assessment.