21 November 2019, Victoria, Seychelles – At the invitation of the Republic of Seychelles, the APRM Secretariat undertook a technical mission to the country with the view to preparing the authorities for the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the forthcoming APR Forum, scheduled for February 2020 in Addis Ababa.

The Team was comprised of His Excellency David Pierre, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Republic Seychelles to the African Union, Dr. Koffi Adorgloh, Country Review Coordinator and Dr. Valery Yao Yao, Researcher and Coordinator of Universal Accession to the APRM.

In his welcome remarks, His Excellency Barry Faure, Secretary of State of Foreign Affairs expressed the gratitude of the Government and the people of Seychelles to the APRM for undertaking the technical mission to his country. In a meeting extended to various stakeholders, he reaffirmed the commitment of His Excellency Danny Faure to accede to the Mechanism. The team provided detailed explanation of the APRM, including an overview, its mandate, its process, the practical modalities of the accession as well as the value addition of the Mechanism to non APRM member states such as Seychelles.

Dr. Confait, Permanent Secretary of Foreign Affairs further informed that the decision to accede to the APRM has already been approved by Cabinet and instructions have been given to government departments to implement it. Based on his experience in the work with the African Union, His Excellency David Pierre encouraged his country to accede to the Mechanism as it would significantly improve the governance profile of the country and the lives of the citizens.