Maritime Affairs and Fisheries - EU official pays courtesy call on President Faure |10 March 2017

Joao Aguiar Machado, the director general for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries in the European Commission, paid a courtesy call on President Danny Faure yesterday at State House.

Mr Aguiar Machado was accompanied by the European Union (EU) ambassador Lina Mariaana Sall, EU representatives along with officials from the Seychelles Fishing Authority.

Mr Aguiar Machado congratulated President Faure on his new presidential mandate.

“I wanted to make my first courtesy visit to President Faure after being the EU director general for one year and a half, to testify to the importance of our bilateral relation on fisheries. Seychelles and the EU have a solid relationship, and we need to keep exploring our cooperation in other areas such as the Blue Economy, maritime security among others,” he said.

Mr Aguiar Machado also extended an invitation to President Faure to take part in ‘Our Ocean’ 2017 conference in Malta organised by the EU.

The 2017 conference will focus on issues of the ocean and climate change, marine pollution and sustainable fishing. It will further develop how the ocean can contribute to sustainable blue growth, including through new energy sources such as tidal and wave technology.

Such conference will enable Seychelles to present concrete actions to protect our oceans.