Dehradun, Uttarakhand - India, 27th June 2018: This afternoon, President Faure of Seychelles visited the Indira Ghandi National Forest Academy in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, on the last day of his State Visit to India.
The President addressed the 100-strong students of the Academy who listened attentively as he spoke about the experience of Seychelles in Environment.
The President said that Seychelles has always been recognised as one of the "greenest" countries worldwide. He received a loud applause from the floor when he stated that the country had in 2016 been recognised by the Environment Performance Index as the country with the "cleanest air quality", much because of the high coverage of forest areas.
The President and his entourage received a presentation on the Academy which runs a 16-month Postgraduate course on Forestry as well as short courses for mid-term career officials.
One of the highlights of the visit was the highly interactive session with the students covering various questions like challenges to forestry, climate change, striking the right balance between Environment and Development, and how the two countries could collaborate to learn from each other's best practices.
To the end the visit, the President was invited to plant a Bael (Aegle marmelos) Sapling in the campus of the Academy.
The previous day, the President had been received by Governor K K Paul at the Rajbhawan who also hosted a lunch in his honour. Their discussions had focussed on yoga, tourism and horticulture.
Editor's Note:
- Speech of President Faure delivered at the Academy may be viewed from the list below: