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Mr Jumeau presented his letter of credentials to H.E. Mr Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations, on Thursday August 23, 2007 at 1200hrs.

Mr Jumeau, who is based at the UN Headquarters in New York, replaces Mr Jeremie Bonnelame, who has recently been appointed as the Chairman of the Constitutional Appointment Authority.

A communiqué from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that when presenting his credentials to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Ambassador Jumeau noted that small island developing states like Seychelles look to the United Nations above all other multilateral fora for understanding and support in meeting the challenges that face them, in particular the effects of climate change.

In a short meeting after the presentation ceremony, the UN Secretary-General, who was aware of Seychelles’ particular interest in matters to do with the environment, climate change, small island developing states and sustainable development, commented that President James Michel had taken a “wise decision” in appointing an ambassador to the UN with a strong environment background at this time, the communiqué said.

He agreed with Ambassador Jumeau that issues such as global warming and its associated climate change problems are more and more taking centre stage in world affairs and consequently UN debates, the communiqué added.

According to the communiqué, Mr Ban Ki-moon showed interest in how Seychelles is being affected by global warming and in particular sea level rise and looked forward to Seychelles’ active participation at the UN in discussions related to environmental and climate change issues.

Ambassador Jumeau thanked the UN Secretary-General for all the assistance the UN and its various bodies continue to give Seychelles and noted that the islands enjoy close and fruitful relations with several UN bodies.