UN envoy Peter Thomson calls on President Ramkalawan |23 March 2022
Ambassador Thomson in discussion with President Ramkalawan (Photo: Joena Meme)
The United Nations secretary general’s special envoy for the Ocean, Ambassador Peter Thomson, paid a courtesy visit to President Wavel Ramkalawan yesterday morning at State House.
The UNSG’s special envoy shared that in his meeting with the President they wanted to continue the discussions they started when they first met in Brest for the One Ocean Summit in February.
“The discussions were mainly based on the lead-up to the UN Ocean Conference to be held in Lisbon from June 27 to July 1 because there are many relevant issues in which Seychelles has strong leadership.”
After the first Ocean Race Summit which took place on Monday, Ambassador Thomson noted that he has been encouraging the summit organisers to come and report in Lisbon at the UN Ocean Conference on what was achieved and what were the outcomes of the meeting.
“I have been encouraging them to mount a side event in Lisbon with other partners. The UN Ocean Conference which will be co-presided by Kenya and Portugal will cover various topics – from marine pollution to fisheries, laws of the sea, scientific knowledge and sustainable blue economy. This is the big moment for our relationship with the ocean. Seychelles having been in the forefront in ocean actions for many years – blue bond, debt swap, leadership etc – it is very important for Seychelles to be there when it comes to what next in our drive to conserve and the sustainable use of the ocean.”