UAE Expo 2020 and COP26 official visits |05 November 2021
President Ramkalawan upon arrival at the Seychelles International Airport yesterday morning (Photo: Thomas Meriton)
‘Great opportunities for exposure,’ says President
By Laura Pillay
President Wavel Ramkalawan returned to the country yesterday following a visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), followed by the COP26 United Nations Climate Change Conference, held in Glasgow, Scotland.
President Ramkalawan arrived onboard the Emirates flight which touched down at the Seychelles International Airport just after 7.20am.
He was greeted upon arrival by Vice-President Ahmed Afif and Brigadier of the Seychelles People’s Defence Forces (SPDF) Michael Rosette, among other officials.
In an interview with the local media, he conveyed satisfaction at the two visits, both of which served as “great opportunities for exposure”, and to have the small island state’s voice heard by the world.
UAE
President Ramkalawan clarified that his journey to the Expo 2020 event in the UAE was at the invitation of the leaders, with all expenses of the Seychellois delegation covered by the UAE. Over the course of the two days, President Ramkalawan met with the leaders to strengthen relations and discuss business affairs, including the recently announced addition of an Emirates flight. To note, the flight on which the President arrived was carrying 310 passengers.
Of the Seychelles representation at the expo, the President commended the Seychelles team, particularly those engaged in the financial services sector, represented by the Financial Services Agency (FSA) and Seychelles Investment Board (SIB) among others.
The President and delegation returned to Seychelles following the two-day visit, before departing for Glasgow Scotland, where the head of state caught the world’s attention with his plea on the plight of small island states in the face of climate change, at the COP26. The head of state also commended those representing the fisheries sector for their activities to attract foreign investments in the sector.
“The Expo has been an international platform of 192 countries, and I think it brought Seychelles great exposure,” President Ramkalawan noted.
COP26 UNCCC
With regard to the COP26 conference, President Ramkalawan clarified that the trip was funded by the Seychelles government, and while many great strides have been made by countries in terms of pledges, it is important that they act with urgency to alleviate small island states of the plight presented by the worsening climate crisis.
On his heartfelt and passionate address at the global event, the President said he felt inspired to send out an important message not just in the interest of Seychelles, but also in the interest of the planet on which we live.
“Each time I represent Seychelles, I want to make Seychelles proud of who we are, and we also want the world to know that Seychelles is serious and that we too are actors on the international scene. I want when we are talking that people realise that we know what we are talking about, but at the same time, I want to, as the President, give our nation a reason to be proud,” President Ramkalawan stated.
The event also served as a good opportunity for the head of state to engage and network with other leaders, including Prime Minister of Mauritius Pravind Jugnauth where they reaffirmed bilateral relations and strengthen areas of cooperation in maritime security and combating illicit activities in the Indian Ocean.
He also reaffirmed relations with the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi, and President of Madagascar Andry Rajoelina with whom a high-level meeting is to be scheduled before year-end to discuss the implementation of an exercise to reinforce Seychelles’ borders as presently, Farqhuar island falls under the responsibility of Madagascar.
Drug seizures and trafficking related arrests
With regard to what is possibly one of the biggest drug busts in Seychelles for a while, President Ramkalawan iterated his congratulations to the police force, intelligence and defence forces.
“I think the Seychellois population are starting to see that when we talk about the war on drugs, I am serious. Last week in my address before the National Assembly I once again issued a warning that we know them, we are watching them and will stop them. We immediately prevented at least 19 kilogrammes of heroin from entering the country. The quantity of hashish seized is also among the biggest haul seized in our country, if I am not mistaken. I hope this operation will be a lesson to all traffickers,” President Ramkalawan reiterated his strong message to traffickers.
He also remarked the importance of beefing up rehabilitation services, in the interest of the population.
Upon the instructions of the President, police and military presence are to be stepped up to address certain anti-social behaviour and violence as seen over recent weeks at housing estates such as Perseverance.
“Our fight is to protect our 1.4 million square metres, and this is our biggest challenge, which is why I called out to the American government, as well as the Indian government, to provide us with information so we can launch targeted attacks,” President Ramkalawan added.
Issuing a message to officers within the force, he also warned that unless they work honestly, they will lose their jobs.
Laura Pillay
