Mancham on high-level missions to Dubai and Istanbul |17 February 2015

Founding President James R. Mancham has announced that he will be attending The Next Generation Democracy Dialogue and the Global Education and Skills Forum which Le Club de Madrid will be hosting from March 13-14, 2015 in Dubai in association with the Carnegie Middle East Centre.

Le Club de Madrid is an association of former presidents and heads of government of democratic nations to which Mr Mancham was elected two years ago.

The Next Generation Democracy Dialogue was launched by Le Club de Madrid at the club’s general assembly which was held in Florence, Italy.

The Global Education and Skills Forum, held annually since 2012 in the United Arab Emirates, has become the pre-eminent event that brings together leaders and practitioners from the public and private social sectors to address major global education policy issues – with particular focus on systemic initiatives that increase both quality and access to education and employment.

From Dubai Mr Mancham will proceed to Istanbul, Turkey for discussions with the secretary general and members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Corporation (Pabsec) in response to an invitation from the secretary general who wrote to him on February 13 as follows:

“It is my pleasure to invite you as a peacemaker and bridge builder specialising in the field of national reconciliation between and within nations to visit us in Istanbul at some convenient time to discuss matters pertaining to peace and global and regional security against your background involvement with peace and security issues.”

Pabsec was created as a result of the major political changes in the late 1980s when the nations of the Black Sea region re-emerged on the world scene. The search by the countries of the region for ways of meeting challenges of national development and European integration paved the way for combining the efforts with a view to turning the Black Sea region into an area of stability, prosperity and peace.

The Summit Declaration of the Black Sea Economic Corporation and the Bosphorus Statement signed in Istanbul on June 25, 1992, defined the basic principles and objectives of the Black Sea Economic Corporation, formally instituting a new regional cooperation process with the participation of 11 countries – Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Republic of Moldova, Romania, The Russian Federation, Turkey and Ukraine. Serbia and Montenegro joined the Pabsec in 2004, becoming the 12th member state. In 2006, after Montenegro declared its independence, the Republic of Serbia became the legal successor of the former state both in the Black Sea Economic Corporation and the Pabsec.

In a statement yesterday morning, Mr Mancham said he was very much looking forward to his meeting with Pabsec’s parliamentarians in Istanbul, particularly as he was spearheading the idea of creating a centre for peace studies in Seychelles in association with the European Council of Peace Development based in Belgrade, Serbia and the University of Seychelles (UniSey).

In this connection he said that last week he entertained very collaborative discussions with Professor Dennis Hardy, vice-chancellor of the UniSey, and Dr Justin Valentin, dean of the Faculty of Business and Law, who were in principle very supportive of the idea.