London/Oxford, United Kingdom: President Danny Faure carried out a series of meetings in London and Oxford yesterday, as part of his working visit to the United Kingdom. He met with the Mo Ibrahim Foundation in London, before travelling to Oxford to meet with leadership at The Queen’s College, visit the Nekton Laboratories, and deliver a lecture at the University of Oxford.

In his meeting with the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, the President focussed on the progress of Seychelles in the Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG), and how Seychelles can further improve its ranking. In the IIAG, country performance in delivering governance is measured across four categories.

Meeting with Nathalie Delapalme, the Executive Director of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, the President was able to assess the consistent improvement in overall governance scores in Seychelles over the last 10 years, and the areas that need to be further strengthened. The Executive Director was keen to emphasise that only 15 countries have shown increasing progress in this score, and that Seychelles is higher than the African average in all categories. The Mo Ibrahim Foundation (MIF) is an African foundation, established in 2006 with the sole focus of defining, assessing and enhancing governance and leadership in Africa. It is well-known for its Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG).

The President also visited Oxford, where he was met by Dr Lindsay Turnbull, Associate Professor at Oxford and a trustee of Seychelles Island Foundation (SIF) and a Fellow of The Queen’s College. Launched by President Faure in June last year, students from The Queen's College together with Seychellois volunteers led an expedition to Aldabra to remove tonnes of plastic litter from its shores earlier this year.

President Faure also stopped by the Nekton Headquarters in Oxford, where he met with the CEO of Nekton, Oliver Steeds, and scientists part of the expedition to Seychelles. President Faure was able to examine ongoing research on samples from Seychelles and 3D maps of the islands, and met with Seychellois scientist Sheena Talma, currently carrying out research in Oxford.

The President was also invited to deliver a lecture at the University of Oxford, a first for Seychelles. He spoke on Seychelles’ experience with ocean governance and innovation. Hosted by the African Studies Centre at the University, the President also took part in a Q&A session after the lecture, where the audience was able to ask him a wide range of questions.