The Nunciature Counselor in charge of the Apostolic Nuncio (Vatican) in the Republic of Seychelles, H.E. Msgr. Tomasz Grysa, presented his credentials to President Wavel Ramkalawan at State House on Tuesday morning.
The ceremony took place in the presence of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Tourism, Mr. Sylvestre Radegonde, the Principal Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Viviane Fock-Tave, and the Director General of the Bilateral Affairs Division, Mrs. Lindy Ernesta.
President Ramkalawan presented his warm congratulations to H.E. Bishop Tomasz Grysa and expressed his satisfaction for the good relations that exist between Seychelles and the Holy See.
“A blessed and a very warm welcome to Seychelles, I wish to congratulate you on your accreditation today and convey my sincere wish that our relations with the Roman Catholic Church will be further enriched during your tenure. As Head of State I take this opportunity to reaffirm the Government’s commitment towards the enhancing of our existing excellent relations,” said the President.
The discussions focused on the strengthening of bilateral cooperation between the two parties in different areas such as climate change, in addressing social ills such as drug abuse and drug trafficking. They also spoke about the different work that the Catholic Church representatives are engaged in at the community level such as in hospitals and charitable organisations.
Following his presentation of credentials letter to the President, H.E. Msgr. Tomasz Grysa also paid a courtesy call to the Vice President, Mr. Ahmed Afif.
H.E. Msgr. Tomasz Grysa replaces H.E. Msgr. Paolo GUALTIERI who had been accredited to Seychelles on 08 March 2016. The Vatican and Seychelles established diplomatic relations on July 27th 1984. H.E. Bishop Tomasz Grysa will be based in Antananarivo, Madagascar.