President Danny Faure held a bilateral meeting with H.E. Hon. Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) on the sidelines of the COP22 yesterday.

Both leaders were pleased with the various common initiatives pursued by the two countries on the international front to defend issues of mutual interest and importance. In this regard, emphasis was put on the adverse effects of climate change which undermine their countries efforts to fully achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. They agreed that the work to implement the Paris Agreement must be motivated by a renewed sense of commitment from the international community. 

They also expressed their willingness to further consolidate the excellent ties of friendship that exist between the two island nations through more dynamic exchanges in various areas including tourism, culture, reform of the public sector, and people-to-people exchange.

President Faure and Prime Minister Gonsalves also discussed the strengthening of cooperation in areas of security and human resource development.  They explored additional ways of improving trade and economic relations through capacity building, the signing of a double taxation avoidance agreement, and close collaboration in the area of renewable energy.

“Prime Minister Gonsalves and I are firmly committed to a focused and result-oriented partnership, as we considered proposals for greater cooperation to drive our common growth as island nations and to improve the lives of our people. Both our countries can learn from each other in various fields. The building of stronger alliances between the Indian Ocean region and the Caribbean is pivotal in this globalised world, if our common aspirations as island nations are to be realized and our people empowered towards sustainable development,” said President Danny Faure.

Other areas of their deliberations centered on the need to build stronger bridges of dynamic cooperation between Africa and the Caribbean in view of their rich historical ties and the prospects of further collaboration between Seychelles and SVG within the Commonwealth.