Indian naval ships to visit Seychelles with ARV drug donation

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Indian naval ships to visit Seychelles with ARV donation

Two Indian naval ships will be in Port from May 23 to 24,

2004 for a fuelling halt, en route to their deployment in the Indian

Ocean.

According to a communiqué from the Indian High Commission the ships,

INS Sujata and Savitri, are scheduled to halt once again at Port

on June 13 and 14 on their return to India.

During their stay in harbour, the commanding officers of INS Sujata

and INS Savitri, K.K. Shankar and P. Hemant Kumar respectively, will

call on the Minister for Foreign Affairs Jeremie Bonnelame, the High

Commissioner of India, H.E. Malay Mishra, and the Chief of Staff of

the Seychelles People's Defence Forces (SPDF), Colonel Leopold Payet.

The ships will also be open to the public from 1030hrs to 1600hrs on

May 23.

INS Sujata and Savitri belong to the Offshore Patrol Vessel class of

the Indian Navy. In addition to long range patrolling and policing,

the ships are also equipped to carry out search and rescue

operations, logistics replenishment and various other tasks. The

ships are also designed to carry helicopters.

INS Sujata is also carrying a consignment of anti-retroviral HIV/AIDS

drugs as a donation to the Government of Seychelles. It may be

recalled that the gifting of these drugs was announced during the

visit of the Vice-President of India to Seychelles in September 2003.

http://www.seychelles-online.com.sc/archives/70210504.html