Founding President James R. Mancham returned to Seychelles yesterday (Monday, April 6) after spending the weekend in Mauritius where he was a special guest at a private reception hosted by Mr. Maxime King of the Coral Azur Beach Hotel and Resort in honor of the Mauritius Prime Minister, Sir Anerood Jugnauth, to mark his 85th birthday.
Sir James had hand-carried a letter of congratulations from Seychelles President James A. Michel to the Mauritius Prime Minister, in which President Michel extended an invitation to Prime Minister Jugnauth and Lady Jugnauth to pay an official visit to Seychelles at some mutually-convenient time. On behalf of President Michel, his government and the people of Seychelles, Sir James also presented a coco-de-mer to Prime Minister Jugnauth.
Prime Minister Jugnauth said that he was immensely happy with the gift and deeply honored by the invitation to visit Seychelles. “I could do with a visit now, but at the moment my priority is to deal with pressing and vital internal issues.” “Perhaps in a few months things would have calmed down, and I will be able to come to Seychelles not only on an official visit but also for some days of relaxation,” Sir James was told.
Before that, Sir James had addressed the distinguished guests who had been invited for the Prime Minister’s birthday reception which included the Speaker of the National Assembly of Mauritius, the Hon. Maya Hanoomanjee, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Hon. Etienne Sinatambou, and Mrs. Sinatambou.
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| Ina relaxing mood (L-R): Lady Jugnauth, Prime Minister Jugnauth & Sir James |
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| Atthe roundtable (L-R): Mrs. Sinatambou, Minister of Foreign Affairs The Hon.Etienne Sinatambou, Sir James, PrimeMinister Jugnauth & Lady Jugnauth |
Sir James said that at 85 years old, Sir Anerood Jugnauth has been displaying a high level of statesmanship rather than behaving like a mere partisan leader. Briefly, his activities are motivated by his desire to bring about transformation within his nation in a serious and transparent way. No doubt, Sir James said, the wise man which Prime Minister Jugnauth is, will not be forgetful of William Shakespeare words about the quality of mercy – “The quality of mercy is twice blessed. It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.”
Sir James said that over the years, Seychelles and Mauritius had collaborated and worked together within the spirit of “Pti Dalon.” But now the time has come for “Pti Dalon” to become “Gran Dalon.”
Referring to his recently-published book “SEYCHELLES – The saga of a small nation navigating the cross-currents of a big world,” he said that two words from this title had to be boldly underlined. One is the word “navigate” and the other is “cross-currents.” He said that leaders in both Mauritius and Seychelles had to be able to “navigate” not only at an internal level but also externally if their nation’s sovereignty is to remain respected and if stability is to prevail and harmony envisaged.
The Mauritius national news this Easter Weekend was dominated by the announcement that the Central Bank of Mauritius had abruptly revoked the license of the Bramer Bank. Asked for his comments on this development which is creating a crisis affecting the British American Investment Group (BAI), with which the Bramer Bank is affiliated and which owns the Apollo Hospital in Mauritius where Seychellois are often medically treated, Sir James said that while certain elements of the opposition are stating that the decision taken was too fast and too abrupt, the Central Bank and the government of Mauritius believe that they had to take swift action in order to avoid a more catastrophic crisis that was obviously on the way.
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