Indian Ocean Commission – Visit by Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne (6-9 Mar. 2020)

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Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne, Minister of State attached to the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, is visiting the Seychelles from March 6 to 9 to represent France at the Council of Ministers of the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC), which brings together five member states: the Union of the Comoros, France on behalf of Réunion, Madagascar, Mauritius and the Seychelles.

This visit will provide an opportunity to demonstrate our commitment within the IOC while underscoring the importance to France of its neighborhood relations in the Indian Ocean, as reaffirmed by Jean-Yves Le Drian, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, during his recent visit to Mauritius, Madagascar and Mozambique. The Council of Ministers of the Indian Ocean Commission will formally adopt the revised Victoria Agreement, which replaces the general cooperation agreement between the member states of the Indian Ocean Commission of January 10, 1984, as well as the additional protocol of 1989. This text reaffirms the IOC’s identity as a regional neighborhood organization, reaffirms the unifying role of the French language and sets out the criteria for the granting of observer status.

During this visit, Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne will be received by Danny Faure, President of the Seychelles; he will meet with Vincent Mériton, Vice President and Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Didier Dogley, Minister for Tourism, Civil Aviation, Ports and Marine. The minister of state will underscore the importance of our geographic and strategic proximity in the regional context of the southwest Indian Ocean in the areas of maritime security, the fight against climate change and the development of the blue economy, including from an Indo-Pacific perspective.

Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne will also visit the facilities of the port of Victoria, whose renovation is being supported by the French Development Agency, in order to promote French expertise in the field of port management. In an archipelago, where 30% of GDP is dependent on tourism, the minister of state will meet with French professionals in this sector, which offers investment opportunities.