The two coastal patrol vessels built by Sri Lanka Navy for Seychelles were officially presented to the Seychelles Government at the Sri Lankan Navy shipyard Rangala Institute in the Colombo Port, under the patronage of President Maithripala Sirisena.

As an agreement made by President Sirisena regarding strengthening the bilateral ties between Sri Lanka and Seychelles during a state visit to Seychelles last October 2018, these vessels were presented to the state of Seychelles.

These boats were produced under the international standards at the Inshore Patrol Craft Construction Project using the technology expertise of the Navy and the supervision of the Navy engineers in a short time frame of six months. Seychelles has agreed to purchase two more similar coast guard vessels from Sri Lankan Navy.

The Seychelles High Commissioner for Sri Lanka Conrad Mederick, the Head of Security of Defense Admiral Ravindra Wijeygunaratne, Commander of the Sri Lanka Air Force Air Vice Marshell Kapila Jayampathy, Navy Commander Vice Admiral Piyal De Silva, Chief of Staff Rear Admiral Jagath Ranasighe and other senior officers of the Navy were present at this event.

Meanwhile the Vice President of Seychelles Vincent Meriton who is currently visiting Sri Lanka assured his country’s commitment to carrying forward bilateral ties and cooperation in a strong footing for the sake of the prosperity of both countries.

He also discussed the program to uplift cooperation in the tourism and trade fields. The drug problem which has become a threat to the whole world should be eradicated by strengthening the cooperation between the two countries, he said.

The Vice President of Seychelles was warmly welcomed by President Maithripala Sirisena while greetings from the President of Seychelles Danny Faure were conveyed to President Sirisena by the Vice President, the PMD reported.