On the margins of the 78th United Nations General Assembly |28 September 2023
Minister Radegonde holds bilateral discussions and signs three agreements
On the margins of the recently held 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, the Seychelles Minister for Foreign Affairs and Tourism, Sylvestre Radegonde, held bilateral discussions with his counterparts from different countries.
During his meeting with the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Georgia, Ilia Darchiashvili, the two ministers discussed the current global political affairs and the possibility for Seychelles and Georgia to develop cooperation in the field of education and other areas of common
interests.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration of Ghana, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, expressed that “it is time to strengthen the relationship between Ghana and Seychelles” during their meeting.
Minister Radegonde added that “Seychelles stands ready to engage with the relevant authorities in Ghana to explore possible areas of cooperation”.
To note that Minister Botchwey announced her candidature for the post of the next secretary general of the Commonwealth due in 2024.
Minister Radegonde also met with the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Latvia, Krišjānis Kariņš, where he briefed his counterpart about how Seychelles is being impacted by the global climate crisis, maritime security threats and the drug problem.
To this end he expressed his gratitude to the European Union for its assistance in patrolling the Indian Ocean Region including the Seychelles waters.
Minister Kariņš stated that Latvia is supporting the preparatory phase of the Fourth SIDS Conference to be held in May 2024 and that it will actively engage in the conference as part of its support to small island developing states.
The minister also met with the deputy secretary of state for Management and Resources in the US Department of State, Richard Verma where they spoke of initiatives that the United States is undertaking in Seychelles such as an ‘American space’ for youth that will be housed in
the Ministry of Education and assistance for non-governmental organisations working in the realm of climate change.
On Friday September 22, 2023, Minister Radegonde signed three bilateral agreements, the first of which was a visa waiver agreement with the deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign of Affairs of Kazakhstan, Murat Nurtleu.
“Our two countries can do better in terms of cooperation, and I am happy that today we will witness the signing of the visa waiver agreement between our two countries,” expressed Minister Radegonde.
Minister Radegonde and the Minister for Foreign Affairs, International Business, Trade and Energy of the Commonwealth of Dominica, Dr Vince Henderson, discussed developing cooperation in the Blue Economy, reiterated the importance of supporting the work of the SIDS DOCK and in pushing the SIDS Agenda forward.
Following their meeting, the diplomats signed two agreements, which included a visa waiver agreement and a General Cooperation Agreement.
The accompanying photos show highlights of Minister Radegonde’s meetings.
Press release from the department of Foreign Affairs
