Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) |21 January 2020
Hon. Barron (left) with Speaker Prea and deputy Clerk Tania Isaac soon after her arrival on Sunday at the airport (Photo source: National Assembly Press Office)
IPU President on historic visit to Seychelles
The President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), Gabriela Cuevas Barron, arrived in Seychelles on Sunday for a historic official visit at the invitation of the National Assembly.
Hon. Barron was met upon her arrival by the Speaker of the National Assembly, Hon. Nicholas Prea and the deputy Clerk, Tania Isaac, who is also the desk officer for the IPU.
It’s the first time in the history of the National Assembly of Seychelles that a President of the IPU makes an official visit, and this particular visit by Hon. Barron is part of an African tour being made during her last year of her three-year mandate.
Hon. Barron, who is the 29th President of IPU after being elected in October 2017, will pay courtesy calls on President Danny Faure, Vice-President Vincent Meriton and the two leaders in the National Assembly during her official visit. She will also address the House during an Extraordinary Sitting today.
It is during the tenure of the current President of the IPU that Seychelles has been the most active within the organisation. Encouraged by the vision of the IPU president and the secretary general of IPU, that the voice of all countries either big or small should be heard, and Seychelles has been at the forefront of several climate change resolutions and the ongoing work to promote the establishment of a permanent committee of small island developing states (Sids) within the IPU.
The IPU is the global organisation of national parliaments that began in 1889 and today, the membership includes 179 member parliaments and 12 associate members. Their mission is to promote democratic governance, institutions and values, working with parliaments and parliamentarians to articulate and respond to the needs and aspirations of the people. They work for peace, democracy, human rights, gender equality, youth empowerment and sustainable development through political dialogue, cooperation and parliamentary action.
Contributed by the National Assembly Press Office