OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
PRESS RELEASE
16.07.2012
ITS ISLANDS- PRESIDENT MICHEL CALLS ON AFRICAN STATES TO MOBILISE POWER OF ITS OCEANS THROUGH ITS ISLANDS “WE ARE THE JEWELS IN THE CROWN OF AFRICA”
In
his remarks to the 19th Assembly of the African Union in Addis Ababa,
President James Michel has called for more attention to be given to
Africa’s ocean and its islands, adding that problems such as piracy
came about because of Africa’s lack of capacity, and political will to
secure this oceanic space.
“It is time that Africa redefines its
relationship with its oceans. Our oceanic space is currently not given
enough attention. Piracy profits from the fact that we, as African
Governments, have not done enough to secure this developmental space”,
the President remarked.
The President added that while most
efforts for regional and continental integration had brought about
tangible infrastructure in terms of roads or bridges, there was not
enough done to connect Africa through its oceans, and its islands, the
guardians of these maritime highways.
“We will not succeed fully
…… if we fail to harness the true potential of our oceans to connect
us: to connect us with each other, and to connect us to other
continents. Africa’s islands are critical to facilitate these
connections.”
The President said that the potential of Africa’s
ocean was boundless, but in the majority this wealth was exploited by
external parties: “It is OUR wealth. We must work together to ensure
that we are the ones to mobilise it for the benefit of our children”.
The President cited the example of the recent ground breaking agreement
between Seychelles and Mauritius on a shared extended continental
shelf as an illustration of states working together to mobilize the
true potential of the Blue economy.
The Seychelles delegation
also took the opportunity to call for an acceleration of the process to
resolve the crisis in Madagascar through full implementation of the
SADC Roadmap. As chair of the Indian Ocean Commission, President
Michel called on all partners to strengthen the support to Madagascar
to prepare the way for free and fair elections to mark the conclusion
of the crisis.
The President stated that Seychelles was seizing
the moment to re-engage with the African Union, to contribute towards a
second liberation for Africa- that of ‘true economic liberation’. As
part of this process, the Seychelles government has announced its
decision to open an Embassy in Addis Ababa.
End
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