Visit of ICGS Vikram

Deck Reception

20 December 2019

Hon. Minister of Blue Economy, Marine Resources, Fisheries and Shipping

Mr. Sudheer Maudhoo,

Senior Colleagues from the Government of Mauritius,

Commissioner of Police,

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and gentlemen,

A very warm welcome to all of you aboard ICGS Vikram.

Hon. Minister, we are grateful to you for accepting our invitation despite your busy schedule.

Our countries share a unique and special relationship that is based on our extensive people to people ties and partnerships across sectors.

India and Mauritius are maritime neighbors across the Indian Ocean. Mauritius is a large Ocean State with an Exclusive Economic Zone of over 2.3 million square kilometers. India too has a large EEZ with its coastline of 7,500 kilometers and a large number of islands, some of whom are inhabited. India, therefore, has had a strong seafaring tradition dating back millennia. Millions of Indians draw their livelihood from the ocean economy.

The importance of Ocean economy is becoming increasingly clear for sustainable development and for the peace and prosperity of coastal nations. It holds true for both India and Mauritius and we share similar concerns and development priorities in this context.

Our leadership is well aware of the huge potential of Ocean economy and the need to secure our EEZs for the benefit of our peoples.

It is essential to tackle the threats of piracy, terrorism, drug trafficking, illegal fishing, illegal dumping of waste, environment pollution such as oil spills, etc. so that the full potential of the blue economy can be developed and utilized in the interest of the people.

This twin interlinked concept of security and prosperity provides the basis for India’s vision for the Indian Ocean region – SAGAR - Security, And Growth for All in the Region - that was articulated by Prime Minister Modi during his visit to Mauritius in 2015.

Our Prime Ministers have met on three occasions this year, which includes their recent meeting a couple of weeks ago where they discussed various aspects of our ongoing and future areas of cooperation.

ICGS Vikram, an offshore patrol vessel of the Indian Coast Guard was commissioned only last year. This vessel is fitted with state of the art navigation and communication equipment. It was indigenously designed and built by M/s L&T Ship Builders in Chennai. The L&T group, as you are aware, is also the contractor for the Metro project in Mauritius.

I understand that in addition to its function of patrolling the EEZ, there have been training programs and exchange of expertise on areas such as maritime pollution response and maritime law enforcement and firefighting.

I may mention that as part of our close cooperation, a Hydrography survey ship INS Darshak of the Indian Navy is currently conducting surveys in the southeast Mauritius region, as per the requirements of GoM. A number of Mauritian officials are also on board that ship. On Monday the first preliminary chart prepared from the survey will be presented to the Hon. Minister of Housing and Land Use Planning.

We are happy to see the continuing close collaboration between India and Mauritius in the field of maritime security and ocean economy and disaster risk reduction.

I offer my best wishes to Commandant Raj Kamal Sinha and his Indian and Mauritian colleagues for their joint efforts.

In conclusion, may I again thank the Hon. Minister for his presence here this evening, which provides us all with a lot of encouragement as we continue to pursue collaboration between our countries.

Thank you.