President Danny Faure visited Marie Louise island today to witness the signing of an agreement which establishes the basis for cooperation and assistance between Island Development Company (IDC) and Island Conservation Society (ICS) to conserve, restore, and enhance the ecosystems of Marie Louise, together with the associated marine environment.

The agreement was signed by the Chairman of ICS, Mr Adrian Skerrett, Chief Executive Officer of IDC, Mr Glenny Savy, and representing the Minister of Environment, Energy, and Climate Change, Minister Maurice Loustau-Lalanne.

The President welcomed the signing of this agreement which paves the way for Marie Louise to provide facilities for local tourism, excursions for tourists, and provide environment conservation activities for students from various schools.

The programmes, monitoring and evaluation, and management plans will be under the responsibility of the Island Conservation Society, and funded by IDC's annual budget commencing 1 April 2018.

After witnessing the signing, President Faure toured the island to see its existing facilities and was briefed on future developments.

The President also visited Poivre and Remire to familiarise himself with the islands and review their proposed development plans going forward.