Modupe Gbadeyanka
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
United States President, Mr Donald Trump, has described Seychelles as an economic model for Africa, pointing out its innovative financing initiatives to address its development needs and build a blue economy.
Mr Trump made this remark while speaking through a prepared statement on Friday when Ambassador Ronny Jumeau presented his credentials as Seychelles’ Ambassador to the United States to the President in the Oval Office at the White House.
Representatives of the White House staff, the State Department and the National Security Council were present at the credentials ceremony for several new ambassadors to the US based in either Washington DC or New York.
According to President Trump, the two countries enjoyed a strong relationship, saying “Seychelles stands as a model for other African economies as one of the top per-capita-income countries in the region.”
Referring to the islands’ debt-for-adaptation swap and forthcoming blue bonds, the first of their kind, Mr Trump said, “Seychelles’ innovative financing programs promote development, help its citizens succeed, and protect its treasures on land and sea.”
Looking forward to deepening the “already close relations” between the two countries, President Trump said Seychelles and the United States “share a long history of friendship, including our partnership over the years to combat piracy and assure maritime security in the Indian Ocean.”
Seychelles’ willingness to apprehend, prosecute, and incarcerate law breakers “helps the international order and means a great deal to the United States”.
Ambassador Jumeau, in his remarks, reminded the US President that “along with other small island developing states, Seychelles faces one of the most important issues of our time: the threat of climate change.”
He also spoke of the strengthening of democracy in Seychelles where President Danny Faure is working in cohabitation with the opposition.
Ambassador Jumeau , speaking through remarks prepared before the current hurricanes devastating parts of the Caribbean and United States, said, “Climate change threatens the very existence of thousands of islands, and the people who inhabit those islands, and we must act decisively.”
The world also had a shared responsibility to protect the oceans for sustainable development.
Ambassador Jumeau also updated President Trump on recent political developments in Seychelles to strengthen democracy. This includes a President from one party working in cohabitation with an opposition-led parliament.
“President Danny Faure has focused on enforcing the principles of good governance, transparency and accountability under his mandate,” Ambassador Jumeau said.
