New York, 19 September 2017 - Seychelles strengthened relations with African small island developing states in the Indian and Atlantic oceans yesterday when President Danny Faure met with the President of Comoros and the Prime Minister of Cabo Verde at the United Nations General Debate in New York.

The President of the Union of Comoros, Mr Azali Assoumani, was keen for his country to benefit from Seychelles’ development experiences in a wide range of socio-economic and other sectors, from tourism and fisheries to health, housing, education and the environment.

President Assoumani was also interested in Seychelles’ success in obtaining both conventional and innovative sources of external financing for sustainable development, building a Blue Economy and addressing climate change, as well as mobilising domestic funds.

President Faure, who was accompanied by Foreign Secretary Claude Morel, said Seychelles would be willing to share its experiences and lessons learnt in the spirit of African solidarity and SIDS-SIDS cooperation and invited the President of Comoros for a visit next year.

The meeting with Mr Jose Ulisses de Pina Correia e Silva, Prime Minister of Cabo Verde, who described the two island states as like-minded countries regarding their approach to sustainable development and strengthening democracy, focused on cooperation in arts and culture and renewable energy, among other sectors.

Cabo Verde too is interested in Seychelles’ experiences in tourism, building development infrastructure and the Blue Economy, and addressing climate change.

Earlier in the day President Faure and his delegation attended the opening of the United Nations General Assembly’s (UNGA’s) annual General Debate which this year has attracted close to 130 world leaders. The President will address the UNGA on Thursday.

In the afternoon, he attended the launching of an international initiative by President Emmanuel Macron of France for a “Global Pact for the Environment”. This aims to be the first international legally binding document that gathers and harmonises all environmental laws in a single document.

Current international environmental law is fragmented in many conventions and international declarations.

President Faure ended the day at a reception for heads of state and government by President Donald Trump of the United States in his capacity as the president of the country that hosts the United Nations.

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