In its role as overall coordinator of the PSP, the Indian Ocean Commission organised the 5th PSP Steering Committee (SC) on 23 July 2026 in Mauritius in the sideline of the 3rd EU Regional Maritime Security Week.

Strong regional cooperation

The meeting was attended by representatives from :

  • The 8 beneficiary countries : Angola, Comoros, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Tanzania and Seychelles
  • The 2 observer countries : Djibouti and South Africa
  • The 3 implementing partners : IMO, UNODC and INTERPOL
  • Key regional institutions : the Association of Port Authorities of Indian Ocean Islands (APIOI), the Port Management Association of Eastern and Southern Africa (PMAESA), the Regional Maritime Information Fusion Centre (RMIFC) and the Regional Coordination of Operations Centre (RCOC).

The Indian Ocean Commission (IOC), as the overall coordinator of the PSP, facilitated the meeting in close coordination with the EU Delegation in Mauritius.

Assessing progress and defining the way forward

The SC discussed and provided an assessment of the activities implemented in the beneficiary countries and the overall coherence between the different results :

  • Addressed the policy orientation of the programme
  • Discussed the challenges
  • Future policies and way forward in view of the recent evaluation undertaken in each beneficiary country

The meeting also discussed the remaining work plans and activities to be held including the Ministerial Conference at the end of 2026.

For Raj Mohabeer, Officer in Charge at the IOC, PSP and its achievements are crucial to overall maritime security of the EA-SA-IO region, playing an important role in the Regional Maritime Security Architecture (RMSA).

IOC advances VTMIS implementation in beneficiary countries

As implementor of Result 3 Outcome 1 of PSP, the IOC has launched 5 tenders as of May 2026 with regards to supply of equipment and 2 consultancies, related to the establishment of national Vessels Traffic Management Information System (VTMIS).

According to the Regional Coordinator, Michele Stallone, these tenders will enable three beneficiary countries to acquire the necessary equipment for the establishment of the VTMIS.

The two consultancies concern the followings:

  1. Expertise to support for the formulation of a Regional Policy on Port Security and Safety of Navigation.
  2. Expertise to support beneficiary countries to defining the roles and responsibilities of institutions participating in a national VTMIS

The tenders make provision for national and regional consultations and validation for both regional Policy and agreement on exchange on information on VTMIS.