EU CRIMARIO training strengthens national inter-agency coordination   |06 October 2022

Mr Chiric and Minister Fonseca signing the temporary trial agreement

Personnel from a number of law enforcement and response agencies who recently completed a training course on the use of multi-language information sharing platform, IORIS, developed by the European Union’s CRIMARIO, were on Monday presented with their certificates.

The IORIS system links specified regional centres with States, and was designed to promote the operationalisation of information-sharing in the Indian Ocean region, including the Seychelles, which hosts the Regional Centre for Operational Coordination (RCOC) that coordinates operations in the Indian Ocean Commission’s sphere of influence, while also making use of IORIS for its national needs.

Although initially configured to offer standardised communications, the platform which boasts very low running costs, interoperability and a standardised approach to information exchange also enables users to also coordinate maritime operations. As such, the training targeted government institutions with common purposes, namely, health, immigration, ports authorities, in addition to law enforcement and emergency and rescue agencies.

Maritime Security Expert for EU CRIMARIO, Ronny Matatiken, noted that the training, which was held in two groups, aimed at strengthening inter-agency collaboration and coordination,  in preparation for potential future situations and operations requiring effective response, and that all parties are united and concurrent in their response approach.

“With the new developments in the world, we need to continually train and adapt with the developments and situations. This has helped the agencies to identify the gaps which exist, and how to better knit their agencies with others, and see that an operation can be tackled with a common interest,” he said.

“The platform allows them to communicate, to interact, and to share information regarding specific operations. And they can share information whether in visual, video or audio format, in a securised manner, and through an encrypted system to which no one else has access. Therefore, it facilitates a procedure in the event that there is an operation or the sharing of information,” Mr Matatiken stated.  

The platform is accessible to different organisations including the police, Defence Forces, the Seychelles Maritime Safety Authority (SMSA), and the Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority (SCAA), among others. It is expected to be further integrated in national operations planning and coordination.

Minister for Internal Affairs, Errol Fonseca, who presented the certificates to the training participants also signed a temporary four-month trial agreement on behalf of the Seychelles government. IORIS instructor Alexander Chiric signed on behalf of the EU CRIMARIO.

“It serves to reflect the intent and commitment of both parties in our quest to bring more law and order within our maritime domain. This instrument allows us to launch the programme, which allows integrated management of operations, which could be security, search and rescue, any maritime operations. This allows inter-agency networking, making us more flexible, helping us with our assets so we streamline the use of assets and bring more effectiveness in our use of assets” Minister Fonseka stated.

The agreement is also expected to help Seychelles in its quest to strengthen cooperation with regional partners, especially those located in the South Western Indian Ocean, and the Indo-Pacific region.

The EU-funded CRIMARIO project focuses on empowering partners in the Indo-Pacific to take on, and become more proficient in addressing maritime security challenges.

“We are privileged and honoured to deepen our cooperation with Seychelles, and in supporting Seychelles in this effort towards creating a very solid framework for inter-agency cooperation. We are here to provide tools, and also mentorship and everything that we have at our disposal to support you in this quest” Mr Chiric stated.

Seychelles will in December be hosting a multi-country meeting and training, grouping together all Indian Ocean partners.

Text & photos by Laura Pillay