During the month of February, the President of the Republic Mr. Wavel Ramkalawan will undertake a series of overseas missions in line with the country’s diplomatic agenda for 2022.
From 3rd to 6th February, President Ramkalawan will join various African Heads of State and Governments to participate in the 35th Ordinary Session of the African Union (AU). The Summit is being held at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia under the theme “Building Resilience in Nutrition on the African Continent: Accelerate the Human Capital, Social and Economic Development”.
The President will then proceed to Brest, France from 9 to 11 February 2022 where he will attend the ‘One Ocean Summit’, at the invitation of the President of France, Mr. Emmanuel Macron. France, in collaboration with the United Nations and the World Bank is hosting a first of its kind summit dedicated to the Ocean to mobilise the international community and take concrete actions to reduce the adverse effects on the ocean.
During his mission in France, the President will also undertake various bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the summit. These will include a meeting with the Secretary General of L’Organisation de La Francophonie and the Director General of UNESCO. A meeting with the Seychellois diaspora is also planned.
From France, the President will travel to Brussels, Belgium for the 6th European Union-African Union (EU-AU) Summit on 17 and 18 February 2022. The summit takes place every three years, alternating between Africa and Europe, to take stock of progress in implementing commitments and to provide political guidance on further work.
For the AU summit, the President will be accompanied by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Tourism, Mr Sylvestre Radegonde, whereas for the European missions the Designated Minister, Mr Jean-Francois Ferrari, together with Minister Radegonde will be in the delegation.
During President Ramkalawan’s absence from the country, his duties and responsibilities will be discharged by Vice-President Ahmed Afif.