Mancham hopeful about reopening of US embassy in Seychelles |27 September 2012

He said that the momentum for this would become apparent following the US presidential elections.
 
Mr Mancham was speaking in an interview with the Savannah Morning News following discussions with the US Congressman from Georgia, the Honorable Jack Kingston in Savannah, Georgia, USA, where he was attending the annual meeting of the Savannah Ocean Exchange, as a member of its board of governors.

Mr Mancham, who has being crusading for years for the reopening of the US embassy here, had earlier addressed the Savannah Council of World Affairs concerning the growing geopolitical importance of Seychelles.

“After all, it is only fair and reasonable to expect the US to have full respect for our sovereignty,” Mr Mancham said.

In this connection, it is to be noted that President Barack Obama, only a few days ago, said that the Seychelles was one of the “US closest and most trusted allies in the Indian Ocean”. The US President made this statement when receiving the credentials of the new Seychelles ambassador to Washington D.C., Marie-Louise Potter.

Mr Mancham is now on the island of Providenciales, in the Turks and Caicos, British West Indies, which is still part of the British Crown, as guest of Roland Georges, who is managing the luxurious Regent Palms Resort, considered to be one of the most exclusive developments in the West Indies.

Until recently, Mr Georges was the deputy director of the Raffles Praslin Hotel, Anse Takamaka, Praslin. 

Before leaving Savannah, Georgia, Mr Mancham was guest of Jean-Michel Cousteau, the son of the famous underwater pioneer Jacques Yves Cousteau, who was in Savannah to preside over the launching of a new film about his great father.