Bilateral co-operation on homeland security issues such as police and prisons management, drugs smuggling and detection, health and detoxification treatment of drug users in prisons were the subjects of discussion when Home Affairs Minister Mitcy Larue met the Prime Minister of Mauritius, Pravind Jugnauth, in Port Louis this week.
Minister Larue is heading a high level prisons and police delegation during an official five-day working visit to Mauritius.
She is accompanied by the Superintendent of Prisons, Vic Tirant; her special advisor for Police, Sheryl Vengadasamy; principal probation officer Elsia Nourrice and prisons security intelligence officer, Shafik Andrade.
Talks with the Prime Minister and Minister for Finance and Economic Development, Pravind Jugnauth, focused on the strengthening of friendly relations and bilateral co-operation between the two countries.
Mr Jugnauth, who also holds the portfolio for Home Affairs, External Communications and the National Development Unit, pointed out that Seychelles and Mauritius share similar social problems such as drug trafficking and poverty which is affecting the productivity and socio-economic development of both island states.
The Mauritian prime minister made reference to the recent largest ever drug haul of 153 kilogrammes of heroin that is allegedly presumed to have been imported into Mauritius through major drug dealers from South Africa. Investigations are still going on in this major drug haul.
“Our region is becoming more and more vulnerable to drug traffickin
g from Madagascar, Eastern and Southern Africa and making its way to Mauritius and Seychelles. Such trafficking calls for a united collaboration and support for regional countries to exchange information to apprehend the offenders,” Prime Minister Jugnauth said at his meeting with Minister Larue.
Both the Seychelles and Mauritian Home Affairs ministers discussed the exchange of prisons management whereby Seychelles can learn and gain from its Mauritian counterparts in terms of training of Seychellois prisons officers, the management of the imprisoned, the detainees on remand, prison rehabilitation programmes and the Mauritian Prison Service plans to introduce the concept of unit and case management into their management of prisons and prisoners.
Talks between Prime Minister Jugnauth and Minister Larue also covered the role of the Mauritian Coastguards and the ADSU Narcotics department in the surveillance, detection and fight against drug smuggling both on land and sea through border control points such as the port and airport.
The drafting of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on bilateral co-operation on the exchange, support and consolidation of relations in police and prisons management, logistics and operations expertise from Mauritius to Seychelles was also discussed and will be further taken up by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade of Mauritius and the Department of Foreign Affairs of Seychelles. The MoU is expected to be signed at a later date.
Other issues focused on at the talks covered regional co-operation, the role of Seychelles in maintaining a pristine and clean environment, drug addiction and rehabilitation and its effect on the labour force of both countries.
During her working visit Minister Larue met the former prime minister, Sir Anerood Jugnauth, who is now Minister Mentor for Defence and Rodrigues; Seetanah Lutchmeenaraidoo, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade; Dr Anwar Husnoo, Minister for Health and Quality of Life; Fazila Jewaa-Daureawoo, Minister for Gender Equality, Child Development and Family Welfare and Purmanund Jhugroo, Minister for Local Government and Outer Islands.
The Seychelles delegation also met the Commissioner of Police of Mauritius, Mario Nobin and the Commissioner of Prisons, Premananda Appadoo.
