Month: March 2023

Seychelles and Mauritius have signed an agreement to efficiently use the Seychelles Coastguard and its Mauritian counterpart to monitor the Joint Management Area (JMA) of the Mascarene Plateau in the Indian Ocean.

The agreement was signed on Monday by Premode Neerunjun, cabinet secretary and head of the Mauritian civil service, who is the new co-chair of the JMA joint commission on the Mauritian side and Seychelles’ co-chair Ambassador Kenneth Racombo.

Chrissant Barbe, Seychelles focal point for the JMA, told the press on Wednesday that “the agreement is a milestone as we have agreed on how to move forward with surveillance and monitoring of the area.”

The agreement comes as both countries “are particularly vulnerable to illicit activities being undertaken by third parties in our own backyards,” said Neerunjun.

“The benefits this brings to Seychelles is that the resources that are affected by various pressures and illegal activities will be better monitored as this will serve as a deterrent to those who carry out the illegal activities,” Barbe explained.

He added that the agreement will also help in the creation of employment in the region.

Prior to signing the agreement, international and regional organisations were monitoring the area.

“This approach has not been very effective where monitoring the JMA is concerned as it was not specifically tailored for the job,” said Barbe.

He added that with the agreement in place, the authorities will have an approach to do just that.

The technical committee and joint commission of JMA are meeting in Seychelles this week to discuss the various aspects of managing the joint area.

Racombo advised those attending the meeting that both parties need to “be strategic in their efforts in order to effectively attain their core objectives.”

The Joint Management Area is the mechanism of joint jurisdiction between Seychelles and Mauritius over an area of the seabed and its underlying subsoil in the Mascarene Plateau Region. It excludes the water and living organisms above the shelf.

A treaty was signed in 2012 and the two island nations secured rights to additional seabed covering over 400,000 square kilometres in the Indian Ocean.

Earlier in February, both governments launched tenders for sea cucumber fishers in their respective countries to submit their proposals for explorative harvesting of the species in the area.

Three sea cucumber fishers in Seychelles will begin fishing for the species in the JMA soon, according to another agreement between the two countries, while only one contractor from Mauritius has shown an interest.

“Our fisheries sector is not on as big a scale as that of Seychelles. We are looking at the possibilities of having joint ventures in the future, so as to get more contractors in Mauritius taking part,” said Jagdish Koonjul, the permanent representative of Mauritius to the UN.

The discussions on the Mascarene Plateau started in 2002. Mauritius and Seychelles, an archipelago in the western Indian Ocean, have met several times a year for joint management discussions since then.

Source: Seychelles News Agency

The President of the Republic, João Lourenço, through a decree appointed Tuesday, in Luanda, six new Angolan ambassadors.

According to the decree which ANGOP had access to, the appointees are Agostinho de Carvalho dos Santos Van Dúnem (ambassador to the United States of America), Albino Malungo, for Zambia, Alcino dos Prazeres Izata Francisco da Conceição ( Kingdom of Norway), Emílio Miguel de Carvalho Sobrinho (Serbia), Rui Orlando Ferreira de Ceita da Silva Xavier (South Africa) and Teodolinda Rosa Rodrigues Coelho (Japan).

In another decree, the Head of State dismissed Alcino dos Prazeres Izata Francisco da Conceição from the post of Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador to the Republic of Serbia, Joaquim do Espírito Santo from the post of Ambassador to the United States of America and Rui Orlando Ferreira de Ceita da Silva Xavier from the post of Ambassador to Japan.

Source: Angola Press News Agency (APNA)

The United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on Tuesday in New York praised Angola´s efforts to find solutions for regional peace and stability.

According to António Guterres, the sending of the Angolan troops is a crucial contribution for the achievement of peace and stability in the Democratic Republic of Congo, as well as in the region.

In his capacity as mediator in the eastern region of the DRC, the Angolan Head of State made it possible for the parties to come to an understanding which resulted in a ceasefire in that region since March 7, this year.

For the fulfilment of the agreement, in response to a Request for Authorization from the President of the Republic, the National Assembly (Angolan parliament) unanimously approved the sending of a military contingent of 500 soldiers to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The Angolan military personnel should assure the cantonment fields of the M23 elements and protect the members of the Ad-Hoc verification mechanism following the ceasefire between government troops and the rebels.

António Guterres, who was speaking at the farewell ceremony from Angola´s ambassador to the UN, Maria de Jesus Ferreira, who is at the end of her mission, took the opportunity to congratulate the diplomat for the work she did during her mandate.

On her turn, Ambassador Maria de Jesus Ferreira, thanked the United Nations Secretary-General and his team for their support during her term.

The diplomat praised the efforts of the UN Secretary-General for his engagement in the search for solutions for world peace and stability, as well as the different reforms he has implemented within the UN system.

Maria de Jesus Ferreira reiterated Angola´s commitment to international peace and security, especially on the African Continent, highlighting the approval by the National Assembly, at the request of President João Lourenço, of sending a contingent to the DRC, for a period of one year, to be renewed, if necessary.

The diplomat said that during the transition period, until the arrival of the new Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Angola to the United Nations, the Deputy Permanent Representative, Ambassador João Gimolieca, will be in charge of the diplomatic mission.

Maria de Jesus Ferreira served as Permanent Representative to the United Nations, in New York, from February 2018 to March 2023.

The diplomat will perform the same function as Angola´s ambassador in the Portuguese Republic

Source: Angola Press News Agency (APNA)