US ambassador bids farewell

US ambassador bids farewell

03-February-2016

The outgoing ambassador of the United States of America to Seychelles, Shari Villarosa, paid a farewell call on President James Michel at State House yesterday morning following a three-year tenure.
President Michel thanked Ambassador Villarosa for her hard work, and expressed gratitude to the US government for the funding and contribution provided to the development of civil society projects in Seychelles.
“The United States and Seychelles enjoy a strong and fruitful relationship. We are committed to many global issues like climate change, security, economic liberalisation, democracy, good governance and sustainable development of the oceans. We thank the US for the assistance that Seychelles is receiving, in the fields of maritime security, environment and biodiversity, learning and development and capacity building through the Young African Leaders Initiative,” said President Michel.
The President and the ambassador reviewed the various cooperation programmes between the US and Seychelles and they spoke about the recent presidential election in Seychelles as well as the one currently taking place in the US.
They noted the good participation in the Seychelles presidential election and the evidence of a truly multi-party democracy.
They spoke about the President’s mandate and his priorities in terms of the economy, education and health care as well as increased wealth distribution.
Talking to the press after saying her goodbye, Ambassador Villarosa said: “We talked about the development of Seychelles, we talked about our shared cooperation across a variety of fields....we have been doing a lot of training of young people through our Young African Leaders programme and we are right now in the process of selecting some more Seychellois. I am very optimistic about the future of Seychelles based on the young people.”
She said after going back to the US she plans to retire and travel the world for leisure rather than work.
Also present at the meeting were the principal secretary for foreign affairs Ambassador Maurice Loustau-Lalanne and the President’s diplomatic adviser, Ambassador Callixte d’Offay.
Ambassador Villarosa was based in Mauritius.

http://www.nation.sc/article.html?id=248291