The Speaker of the National Assembly, the Hon. Sooroojdev Phokeer, GCSK, GOSK, is currently leading a parliamentary delegation comprising the Hon. Dr. Marie Christiane Dorine Chukowry, MP and PPS, and the Hon. Gilles Fabrice David, MP, to Tbilisi, Georgia, to attend the 48th Plenary Assembly of the Assemblée Parlementaire de la Francophonie (APF) and meetings of its governing bodies.
During his address to the Political Committee on the current political situation of the sections, the Speaker highlighted, at national level, the economic and political stability of the Republic of Mauritius and the various measures taken by the government to ensure the continuity and role of Mauritius within the Francophonie. On a regional level, in his capacity as President of the Association of Parliamentarians of Indian Ocean Commission Member States (AP-COI), the Speaker expressed the wish for support from the APF in the pursuit of the association’s objectives.
On the international front, the Speaker highlighted the decision of the International Court of Justice and the United Nations General Assembly on Mauritius’s sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago, and of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea on the delimitation of maritime zones between Mauritius and the Maldives.
At the meeting of the Committee on Education, Communication and Cultural Affairs, the Hon. Dr. Chukowry highlighted the Mauritian government’s policy and actions in the field of education and social inclusion.
During work on the circular economy at the meeting of the Commission for Cooperation and Development, the Hon. David spoke of the need for regional cooperation in the French-speaking Indian Ocean region and the African continent, for better knowledge transfer and intelligent pooling in order to create profitable recycling channels.
A fruitful meeting was held between the Speaker in his capacity as President of the AP-COI and the President of the APF, the Hon. Francis Drouin, Canadian MP, within the framework of a cooperation project between the AP-COI and the APF, as well as consideration of observer status for the AP-COI with the APF.
The Speaker also met the Georgian President, Her Excellency Madame Salome Zourabichvili, and the Georgian Prime Minister, His Excellency Irakli Garibashvili.
The Speaker intends to address the plenary session on the main theme of the debate: Mobility in the Francophone space and in his capacity as President of AP-COI, to put forward the joint declaration of AP-COI on support for the priorities of the Comorian Presidency of the African Union (AU) and the Seychelles Presidency and the Mauritian Vice-Presidency of the SADC Parliamentary Forum, which was adopted and validated under his presidency in May 2023 in Mahé, Seychelles, and to make a plea for support to the APF.
A meeting is also scheduled between the Speaker and members of his delegation, and his Georgian counterpart, His Excellency Mr. Shalva Papuashvili.
