Seychelles Is Living the Consequences of Climate Impact Daily, Says Vice-President At AU Summit

DIRCO/GCIS/Flickr
The African Union building in Addis Ababa.
20 February 2023
Seychelles News Agency (Victoria)

Seychelles' Vice-President Ahmed Afif congratulated the COP27 presidency for leading the historic decision to establish a new loss and damage response fund in Egypt, State House said on Sunday.

Afif led Seychelles' delegation at the 36th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union (AU) from February 18 to 19 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The ground-breaking decision to provide loss and damage funding for vulnerable countries hit hard by climate disasters was taken at the United Nations climate conference (COP27) in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt in November 2022.

According to State House, Seychelles' Vice-President intervened in the presentation of the Report of the Committee of African Heads of State and Government on Climate Change (CAHOSCC) by the chair, William Ruto, President of Kenya.

"Seychelles like the rest of the African continent, is living the consequences of climate impact daily and this, coupled with the increasing number of climate disasters, makes it obvious that the era of loss and damage is upon us," said Afif.

He also gave a brief report on the activities undertaken in 2022 to promote the Africa Island States' action for climate-resilient sustainable development.

During the opening ceremony, the chairmanship of the AU was handed over to the President of Comoros by the outgoing chairperson, the President of Senegal, Macky Sall, in the presence of the United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres.

The 36th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the AU marked the launch of the 2023 theme - Accelerating implementation of the AfCFTA [the African Continental Free Trade Area]. The theme echoes the continental consensus that the future of Africa lies in greater investment and intra-Africa trade through reduced tariffs and freer movement of peoples and goods.

On the margins of the summit, Afif met the Seychelles diaspora in Addis Ababa in a reception hosted by Ambassador Conrad Mederic at his residence.

Afif also had bilateral meetings to explore and deepen existing cooperation with the delegations of the United States, Kenya, and the AU Commissioner responsible for the Blue Economy.

Read the original article on Seychelles News Agency.

Tagged:
Copyright © 2023 Seychelles News Agency. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.

AllAfrica publishes around 400 reports a day from more than 100 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct.

Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica. To address comments or complaints, please Contact us.