The closing ceremony to mark the end of the joint  patrol between  the  Seychelles  Defence Forces and the United States Coast Guard was held  this morning at  the Military Training Support Centre Auditorium – Perseverance. 

The patrol was conducted under a bilateral agreement signed by the Seychelles and United States government in  2021;  the  first  bilateral maritime agreement between  theUnited States and an East African country. 

Lieutenant Ricky Leon gave a brief overview of the patrol’s main event during the ceremony. It was the first operation under the Countering Illicit Transnational Maritime Activity Operations Agreement. 

The agreement’s goal is to improve the two countries’ maritime governance by better detecting, deterring, and suppressing illicit transnational maritime activities. 

For the first time in the Seychelles Coast Guard’s history, USCG personnel were deployed alongside a boarding team from the Special Forces Unit on board our vessel, PS Zoroaster. 

The success of this first bilateral agreement also demonstrates the Seychelles Defence Forces’ determination, professionalism and ability to work in close partnership with other international forces to keep our maritime zone and region safe.