President Faure starts UK visit on a high note |21 October 2019
President Faure being briefed on ongoing research on samples from Seychelles collected during the recent Nekton expedition
President Danny Faure took part in a series of meetings in London and Oxford on Friday, as part of his working visit to the United Kingdom.
He met the Mo Ibrahim Foundation in London, before travelling to Oxford to meet the leadership at The Queen’s College, visit the Nekton Laboratories, and deliver a lecture at the University of Oxford.
In his meeting with the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, the President focussed on the progress of Seychelles in the Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG), and how Seychelles can further improve its ranking. In the IIAG, country performance in delivering governance is measured across four categories.
Meeting Nathalie Delapalme, the executive director of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, President Faure was able to assess the consistent improvement in overall governance scores in Seychelles over the last 10 years, and the areas that need to be further strengthened.
The executive director was keen to emphasise that only 15 countries have shown increasing progress in this score, and that Seychelles is higher than the African average in all categories.
The Mo Ibrahim Foundation is an African foundation established in 2006 with the sole focus of defining, assessing and enhancing governance and leadership in Africa. It is well-known for its IIAG.
President Faure also visited Oxford, where he was met by Dr Lindsay Turnbull, Associate Professor at Oxford and a trustee of Seychelles Island Foundation (SIF) and a Fellow of The Queen’s College.
Students from The Queen's College together with Seychellois volunteers led an expedition to Aldabra to remove tonnes of plastic litter from its shores earlier this year. The clean-up expedition was launched by President Faure in June.
President Faure also stopped by the Nekton Headquarters in Oxford, where he met the chief executive of Nekton, Oliver Steeds, and scientists who were part of the expedition to Seychelles.
President Faure was able to examine ongoing research on samples from Seychelles and 3D maps of the islands, and met Seychellois scientist Sheena Talma, currently carrying out research in Oxford.
President Faure was also invited to deliver a lecture at the University of Oxford, a first for Seychelles. He spoke on Seychelles’ experience with ocean governance and innovation.
After the lecture, the president also took part in a Q&A session hosted by the African Studies Centre at the University. During the session, members of the audience were able to ask him a wide range of questions.