On July 29 Seychelles and Mauritius signed an agreement which defined their respective boundaries in relation to their Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ), following talks in Port-Louis by a delegation led by National Development Minister Jacquelin Dugasse recently. The baseline points for Seychelles were the islands of Coetivy, Providence and Farquhar, while for Mauritius this is Agalega.
However, the two countries have decided to entrust the continental plateau - which they both claim - to a joint committee consisting of representatives of both countries. This includes the Saya de Mala fishing banks, which the two Small Island States have often talked about, agreeing to disagree on the rightful owner. They now intend to request the United Nations Commission, specializing in such types of disputes to define their respective borders. The Commonwealth has put three consultants at their disposal to assist them formulate their request to the UN body.
The Saya de Mala bank is rich in marine resources presently exploited by Mauritius fishing boats, but rarely by Seychelles. According to former President Mancham’s memoirs “PARADISE RAPED,” Mr. Albert Rene, then his Prime Minister, led a delegation to Port-Louis early in 1977 to ostensibly discuss the fishing bank and from there slipped quietly to Tanzania, from where he returned to Seychelles with a crate marked “household effects”. The Prime Minister’s crate was not searched and it is believed it contained AK 47s, which were later used to stage the June 5 coup d’Etat, overthrowing the democratically elected government of President. Mancham.