USA officially has a new President, what does it mean for Seychelles? |21 January 2021
Yesterday, Joe Biden was inaugurated as the 46th President of the United States of America at the Capitol building around 9pm Seychelles Time.
Vice-President Kamala Harris was also sworn in during the inaugural ceremony. Amid the coronavirus pandemic, this historic event took place differently with limited attendance. Most of the events were streamed live.
After taking their oaths of office, President Biden delivered an inaugural address laying out his vision to defeat the pandemic, build back better, and unify and heal the nation. Lady Gaga sang the national anthem and Jennifer Lopez and Garth Brooks also performed during the ceremony.
But what does this auspicious event mean for Seychelles? We contacted the public affairs officer, U.S. embassy Mauritius and Seychelles, Nicholas Von Mertens, and he noted: “As you might already be aware Ambassador David Reimer recently paid a virtual farewell courtesy call on President Wavel Ramkalawan. The U.S. embassy and the chargé d’affaires, Judes E. DeBaere, look forward to continuing our work on issues of mutual interest, including maritime security, democratic governance, combatting drug trafficking and drug addiction, and mutually beneficial trade and investment.”
He also explained that “the Presidential inauguration yesterday is an opportunity for President Biden to announce his plans and vision for the future. This year's theme is ‘America United’, and because the public has been asked to watch the ceremonies from home, organisers have leveraged social media and virtual options to help people participate”.
Biden plans to focus during the early part of his administration on uniting the country and addressing pressing problems such as the Covid-19 pandemic, good-paying jobs, racial injustice and climate change.
Mr Von Mertens concluded that “the inauguration is also an opportunity to recognise Kamala Harris who will break barriers when she is inaugurated as vice- president of the United States. She will be the first woman – and the first person of African, Jamaican and South Asian ancestry – to occupy that position”.
Vidya Gappy