Parliamentary Friendship Group from Germany meet President Faure |20 September 2019

President Faure and the German delegation in a souvenir photograph after their meeting

Members of the Parliamentary Friendship Group from Germany paid a courtesy call on President Danny Faure yesterday at State House.

They were accompanied by the ambassador of Germany to Seychelles, Annett Günther, and the German honorary consul in Victoria, Kirstin Henri.

“We are a group from the German parliament responsible for the states of East Africa and we are visiting the region and Seychelles is the highlight of our visit. In our meeting with President Faure, we talked about the beauty of Seychelles and how things can possibly be improved. We know tourism is very important to your country and economy and that the Germans are keen to visit Seychelles,” said Manfred Todtenhausen, the head of the delegation and also a member of the Free Democratic Party (FDP).

The objective of this visit is mainly to get acquainted with the Seychelles and its parliament. “We are a parliamentary friendship group and we are very interested to get into contacts with members of parliaments from around the world and have friendly relationships with the parliaments. We are very keen to get to know members of parliament from here and hope that they will also be able to come to Germany to learn about our system,” added Mr Todtenhausen.

“I have visited your country as a tourist but it is very important also for my colleagues to get the opportunity to visit your country and have a firsthand impression of Seychelles and upon our return to Germany we can talk about it. This visit is also to enhance mutual understanding and talk about issues that are important to both our countries such as climate change and environmental protection. We will be able to make progress on those only if we work hand in hand. You have two major assets in your country – the beauty including the flora and fauna and the hearts and minds of the younger generation and with a high level of education, you will be able to move the country forward.”

“President Faure is also very keen to visit Germany and we were very pleased to meet him. We are sure that if he comes for a visit he will be very well received,” concluded Mr Todtenhausen.

During their visit in Seychelles, they have a full programme prepared by the German ambassador to Seychelles and this includes a visit to the Botanical Gardens.

Later yesterday afternoon they met the Speaker and some members of the National Assembly.