American Congress staff meet Seychelles National Assembly Speaker |28 February 2024
The meeting in progress
A staff delegation of the United States Congress met the Speaker of the National Assembly, Roger Mancienne, on Monday afternoon.
The Speaker was accompanied by the deputy Speaker, Gervais Henrie; leader of the opposition, Sebastien Pillay; leader of government business, Bernard Georges; chairperson of the Defence and Security Committee, Clifford Andre; chairperson of the International Affairs Committee, Waven William; Clerk of the National Assembly, Tania Isaac; and deputy Clerk, Alexandria Faure.
The Congress delegation comprised US Ambassador Henry Jardine; Rear Admiral Calvin Foster; US Senior Defense Attaché, Jeff Schwamb; Africa Subcommittee Staff Director, Joe Foltz; deputy Staff Director, Laura Fullerton; Senior Advisor, Rachel Walker; Communications Director, Leslie Shedd; charge d'affaires, Adham Loutfi; and professional staff members, Christina Tsafoulis, Chris Kulukundis and Dwayne Clark.
Discussions began with an outline of the aims of the visit from the delegation, noting the improvement of US-Africa relations and the joint formulation of policy via the legislature were points of high importance.
Mutual topics, such as maritime security, environmental protection, trade and investment, and the exchange of parliamentary practices, were discussed at length.
It was noted that despite the change in dynamics of certain cases, such as piracy and the development of maritime terrorism, the US would remain a source of aid and support.
Hon. Pillay gave the delegation a strong recommendation for future engagements to begin with more consultations on various levels, in order to gain valuable insights and better inform the public.
Hon. Georges expressed his gratefulness to witness the reinvigoration of the US-Seychelles friendship and thanked the delegation for their efforts in engaging with parliamentarians among other important parties during the working visit.
Mr Foltz noted his appreciation for this bipartisan style of engagement, and strongly affirmed the aim of people-to-people engagement that the US aimed to cultivate in Seychelles.
Speaker Mancienne noted that it was a pleasure to have this exchange with the delegation and remarked that the topics they discussed were of mutual importance. The improvement of joint engagement and democratic practices were well received, with the Speaker thanking them for their time.
The delegation then presented the Speaker with a token of appreciation, before the meeting came to a close.
