Seychelles attends 18th Comesa meeting of Ministers for Foreign Affairs |10 June 2023
Ambassador Morel and Ambassador Lemba signing the agreement
Signs General Cooperation Agreement with Zambia
Ambassador Claude Morel, Seychelles’ Permanent Representative to the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa), represented Seychelles at the 18th meeting of Ministers for Foreign Affairs held on June 6, 2023 in Lusaka, Zambia.
During the ministerial meeting, member states deliberated on matters concerning peace and security in the region, and the various Comesa programmes in place to address the latter.
Seychelles, being an island state, wanted to raise awareness of the dangers posed by climate change as an emerging threat to peace and security.
In his intervention, Ambassador Morel stressed the need for a comprehensive and proactive approach to addressing the multifaceted nature of climate-induced insecurity in the region.
The meeting proceeded to elect six members to the Comesa Committee of Elders. Ambassador Marie-Pierre Lloyd was re-elected as Seychelles’ representative to serve a second term of four years on the committee.
In the margins of the meetings, Seychelles and Zambia signed a General Cooperation Agreement.
The agreement was signed by Ambassador Claude Morel who is accredited to Zambia, and the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Zambia, Ambassador Isabelle Lemba.
The General Cooperation Agreement is a platform that will allow the further enhancement of bilateral cooperation across various sectors, including education, health, agriculture, and more.
It is to be noted that there are currently 84 Zambian teachers that are deployed in various schools across the country. Negotiations are currently being conducted for the recruitment of 14 healthcare professionals in diverse fields.
Ambassador Morel was accompanied at the meetings by the Honorary Consul General of Seychelles in Zambia, Jimmy Butt and Second Secretary Nisha Chengo.
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