Mauritius, 28 October 2017: On the second day of his State Visit to Mauritius, President Faure met with the Prime Minister of the Republic of Mauritius, His Excellency Honourable Pravind Kumar Jugnaught for a Tête–à-Tête at the New Treasure House in Port Louis Mauritius yesterday.
Following their meeting, the two leaders attended a working session to discuss and agree on various areas of cooperation of mutual benefit to both countries.
During the working session, President Faure described the relations between the two countries as one that is dynamic and evolving. He added that his presence in Mauritius is testament of the will of the people of Seychelles to further consolidate the ties of kinship and partnership that exists between the two island nations.
He pointed out that “The relationship between the Government of Seychelles and the Government of Mauritius is one based on shared culture, values and on strong bonds of friendship and excellent bilateral ties. The relation between our two countries is one, which is holistic covering a wide array of areas: diplomacy, culture, trade and commerce, education amongst others.”
He continued by adding that “There are few relationships as strong as that, that exists between our two island nations. Whilst we may be geographically destined to cooperate, there has always been a strong commitment at all levels for our countries to work as partners focused on unlocking their shared potential”.
During the meeting both countries agreed to continue to extend their mutual support for one another in the international arena. On this the Prime Minister commended Seychelles for its support in Mauritius’ quest to seek justice for the people of Chagos.
More than this, the two leaders also agreed strengthen their collaboration at the regional level through the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC) and Indian Ocean Region Association (IORA). They expressed their wish to engage in discussions prior to important forums at regional level, so as to ensure that they enter into those meetings with a one voice and with a common position.
They also agreed to work together to protect their respective fisheries sector. They expressed their concerns for the IOC resolution 16/01 calling for a reduction of yellow fin tuna by 15%. They reiterated the need for the two island nations to work together to find meaningful ways to ensure that their economies remains unaffected by this resolution.
Other than this, the two countries agreed to collaborate in other fields such as Agriculture, Commerce, investment and building human resource capacity in both Mauritius and Seychelles.
In view of the strong kinship and affinity that exists between the two states, President Faure announced that Seychelles will hold a Seychelles week in Mauritius in 2018 to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the National day of the Republic of Mauritius next year.
President Faure took the opportunity to invite H.E Prime Minister Jugnaught to Seychelles to undertake a State Visit at a mutually agreeable date.
At the end of the the working session the President and Prime Minister Jugnaught witnessed the signature of the following Memorandums of Understanding:
- Memorandum of Understanding between the Seychelles Prison Service and the Mauritius Prison Service on cooperation in the field of Management of Operations and staff training
- ‘Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the Republic of Mauritius Represented by the Rodrigues Regional Assembly and the Government of the Republic of Seychelles Represented by the City of Victoria regarding the Twinning relationship between the Island of Rodrigues and the Island of La Digue’
- Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the Republic of Seychelles Represented by the Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development and the Government of the Republic of Mauritius Represented by the Ministry of Labour, Industrial Relations, Employment and Training on Recruitment of Teachers and other Specialists in the Education Sector from Mauritius'
- ‘Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Health and Quality of Life of the Republic of Mauritius and the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Seychelles'
The MOU’s were signed on behalf of the Government of Seychelles by Mrs. Jeanne Simeon, Minister of Family Affairs and on behalf of the Government of Mauritius by H.E Hon. Vishnu Lutchmeenaraidoo, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade.
The Presidential delegation also visited the Aapravasi Ghat World Heritage Site in Port Louis and the Indian Ocean Commission Headquarters in Ebène.
To view full photo gallery of the Mauritius State Visit please visit the State House Seychelles Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/StateHouseSey/