The United Nations will soon open a liaison office in Seychelles to boost relations and cooperation with the island nation, the U.N. resident coordinator said Tuesday.
The coordinator, Christine Umutoni, met with President Wavel Ramkalawan at State House on Tuesday morning.
“During my stay here, we will be opening the liaison office where will be working closely with foreign affairs, planning and other ministries, to ensure that this coordination office works well,” said Umutoni.
The UN resident coordinator is based in Mauritius and she said that a liaison office in Seychelles will allow for better communication, especially in the implementation of different programmes.
She said that on behalf of the UN Secretary General she congratulated the President for the fact that Seychelles was exemplary in the way the country handled the transition of power after the 2020 elections.
“I bring a message of congratulations, especially for the very fair and free elections and the peaceful transition, an example to other African nations, where elections do not always take place peacefully,” Umutoni.
The UN resident coordinator also praised Seychelles for the country’s vaccination efforts, where Seychelles is a leader in the percentage of its population that has been vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus.
In the latest figures released by the Ministry of Health on the vaccination uptake in Seychelles, 76,468 people have received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine which is 77 percent of the population of 99,200.
Umutoni said that the UN will continue to work with Seychelles, an archipelago in the western Indian Ocean, as part of its cooperation framework through which they will be looking at various areas of support.
Following the meeting with the UN resident coordinator, President Ramkalwan met with the outgoing Japanese ambassador to Seychelles, Horie Ryoichi.
Ryoichi has been in this position since November 2019 and has been based in Nairobi, Kenya.
“It has been an honour to work at continuing the relations between the two countries. During my time, Japan and Seychelles have worked together in areas relating to health and also maritime safety,” said Ryoichi.
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