The Office of the President has announced that Minister Jean-Paul Adam will be leaving the Cabinet at the end of January 2020 to take up a new role with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA).  Minister Adam will be taking up the position of Director for Climate Change, Environment and Sustainable Development within the UNECA secretariat based in Addis Ababa.

The appointment of Minister Adam in this role is a further recognition of the Seychelles' leadership role in sustainable development and the blue economy. 

President Danny Faure himself has already been recognized by UNECA and the African Union as a continental ‘Blue Economy Champion’. 

President Danny Faure said that he wished Mr. Adam all the very best in his new role.  He said that Seychelles had once again been recognized for its leadership on issues that matter the most for our planet.  "I have every confidence," the President said, " that Minister Adam will further enhance the capacity of UNECA to support African countries, including Seychelles to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals”.

Minister Adam will continue to hold the Health portfolio until he takes up the new UNECA role.  The appointment of another Minister will be considered in due course.

Established by the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations in 1958 as one of the UN's five regional commissions, UNECA's mandate is to promote the economic and social development of its member States, foster intra-regional integration, and promote international cooperation for Africa's development. Made up of 54 member States, and playing a dual role as a regional arm of the UN and as a key component of the African institutional landscape, the ECA is well positioned to make unique contributions to address the Continent’s development challenges. The strategic objective of ECA is framed around delivering ideas and actions for an empowered, inclusive and transformed Africa in the framework of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Agenda 2063 of the African Union through its three core functions, namely, its function as a think tank, its convening function and its operational function.

In his new role, Mr. Adam will oversee UNECA’s progress towards developing the blue and green economy in Africa.  He will tap into his experience of developing innovative finance for the blue economy, in addition to the initiatives he also led, as Minister of Health, to address the health impacts of climate change.