EU Navfor reaffirms commitment to fighting piracy
“The conditions for piracy to succeed are still there and we must not be complacent,” the maritime community has been cautioned.
The warning comes from Rear Admiral Bob Tarrant of the European Union Naval Force (EU Navfor) for Somalia Operation Atlanta.
Rear Admiral Tarrant, who paid a courtesy call on President James Michel at State House yesterday, said
recently there has been a spate of piracy attacks not far from Seychelles which was successfully dealt with but he cautioned: “My message is that piracy is not over; let us continue to take it seriously and we still have to work together to eradicate this scourge in the region.”
Rear Admiral Tarrant reiterated the EU Navfor’s commitment to the counter-piracy effort that the Seychelles has been at the forefront of since the problem started.
“We are looking forward to continuing our close collaboration in the future to defeat piracy and make it irrelevant,” he stressed.
“I am happy to say that there is very close cooperation between the Seychelles government and the EU and this is extremely helpful where the ocean is concerned. But the problem with piracy is that we can deal with the symptoms at sea but we also have to help Somalia deal with the problem on land,” added Rear Admiral Tarrant.
President Michel thanked the European Union and its naval force for the work they are doing to contain the piracy attacks in the Somali basin.
“Seychelles is trying to do its best to fight piracy with the limited resources it has, and while piracy has been contained with the help of international forces in the region, there is still a lot to be done on the ground in Somalia. The EU has been committed to dealing with piracy and we thank our EU partners for the work they have done to fight piracy, as well as the ongoing work in Somalia to achieve political stability," said President Michel.
The President and the Rear Admiral discussed the most recent challenges that the EU Naval Forces have in the Somali Basin. Rear Admiral Tarrant commended Seychelles for the work that it is doing to prosecute pirates caught at sea.
Rear Admiral Tarrant said the EU through capacity-building efforts of the EU CAP NESTOR as well as the EU Navfor and its other missions on the grounds in Somalia are now helping the federal government there make a difference to start creating some stability.
“The EU is committed to stability in Somalia, using a comprehensive approach with partners such as Seychelles to make it happen,” added Rear Admiral Tarrant.
Rear Admiral Tarrant was accompanied on the visit at State house by the Minister for Home Affairs and Transport Joel Morgan, who is also the chairperson of the high level committee on piracy; the principal secretary for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Maurice Loustau-Lalanne; British high commissioner to Seychelles, Lindsay Skoll; and the French ambassador to Seychelles, Genevieve Iancu, whose countries also have forces in the different missions.
The warning comes from Rear Admiral Bob Tarrant of the European Union Naval Force (EU Navfor) for Somalia Operation Atlanta.
Rear Admiral Tarrant, who paid a courtesy call on President James Michel at State House yesterday, said
recently there has been a spate of piracy attacks not far from Seychelles which was successfully dealt with but he cautioned: “My message is that piracy is not over; let us continue to take it seriously and we still have to work together to eradicate this scourge in the region.”
Rear Admiral Tarrant reiterated the EU Navfor’s commitment to the counter-piracy effort that the Seychelles has been at the forefront of since the problem started.
“We are looking forward to continuing our close collaboration in the future to defeat piracy and make it irrelevant,” he stressed.
“I am happy to say that there is very close cooperation between the Seychelles government and the EU and this is extremely helpful where the ocean is concerned. But the problem with piracy is that we can deal with the symptoms at sea but we also have to help Somalia deal with the problem on land,” added Rear Admiral Tarrant.
President Michel thanked the European Union and its naval force for the work they are doing to contain the piracy attacks in the Somali basin.
“Seychelles is trying to do its best to fight piracy with the limited resources it has, and while piracy has been contained with the help of international forces in the region, there is still a lot to be done on the ground in Somalia. The EU has been committed to dealing with piracy and we thank our EU partners for the work they have done to fight piracy, as well as the ongoing work in Somalia to achieve political stability," said President Michel.
The President and the Rear Admiral discussed the most recent challenges that the EU Naval Forces have in the Somali Basin. Rear Admiral Tarrant commended Seychelles for the work that it is doing to prosecute pirates caught at sea.
Rear Admiral Tarrant said the EU through capacity-building efforts of the EU CAP NESTOR as well as the EU Navfor and its other missions on the grounds in Somalia are now helping the federal government there make a difference to start creating some stability.
“The EU is committed to stability in Somalia, using a comprehensive approach with partners such as Seychelles to make it happen,” added Rear Admiral Tarrant.
Rear Admiral Tarrant was accompanied on the visit at State house by the Minister for Home Affairs and Transport Joel Morgan, who is also the chairperson of the high level committee on piracy; the principal secretary for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Maurice Loustau-Lalanne; British high commissioner to Seychelles, Lindsay Skoll; and the French ambassador to Seychelles, Genevieve Iancu, whose countries also have forces in the different missions.
Forrás: www.nation.sc