President on State visit to Mauritius |12 March 2012

During his visit, President Michel will meet the Mauritian Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam and President Anerood Jugnauth as well as other members of the Mauritian government.

Discussions are expected to focus on the threat of piracy to both countries, the joint management of the extended continental shelf in the Mascarene Plateau region, as well as education, health and Indian Ocean Commission cooperation.

The President is accompanied by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Jean-Paul Adam; the special adviser for Foreign Affairs, Jeannette d’Offay; the special adviser for Land Use and Housing, Raymond Chang-Tave; and the director for Treaties in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sandra Michel.

President Michel’s last State visit to Mauritius was in March 2005 where he was chief guest at the island’s National Day celebrations.

He also paid an official visit to Mauritius in January 2005 for the  high-level meeting on the elaboration of the Mauritius strategy for the further implementation of the Barbados plan of action for the sustainable development of small island developing states.

Recent visits of Mauritian leaders to Seychelles include that of Pravind Jugnauth, who was at the time the Vice-Prime Minister of Mauritius, in March 2011 on the occasion of the 9th Seychelles-Mauritius Bilateral Commission. During his visit, Seychelles and Mauritius signed a double taxation avoidance agreement as part of ongoing efforts to facilitate cooperation between the two countries.

Prime Minister Ramgoolam was among the guests of honour during the swearing in of President Michel as President of the Republic in 2006.

In December 2004, the Prime Minister of Mauritius at the time, Paul Berenger, paid his first official visit to Seychelles.