Seychelles Joins Indian Ocean Leaders in Madagascar for 5th IOC Summit
VICTORIA, Seychelles — President Wavel Ramkalawan joined fellow Indian Ocean leaders in Antananarivo this week for the 5th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC). The summit, hosted by Malagasy President Andry Rajoelina and chaired in his capacity as current IOC chair by Comorian President Azali Assoumani, focused on food security and sovereignty as drivers of regional development.
President Ramkalawan, attending his first IOC summit, used his address to highlight Seychelles’ longstanding ties with Madagascar and to call for a more integrated regional approach to the blue economy, centred on maritime security, ocean governance, scientific knowledge and the protection of the marine environment. He pointed to the disproportionate share that freight costs can represent in the price of food in the region, and to Madagascar’s potential as a regional breadbasket given that the country holds the majority of arable land within the IOC.
The summit also heard an address by French President Emmanuel Macron, who used the platform to reaffirm France’s commitment to regional integration, including the prospect of a complete integration of Mayotte into IOC programmes. The leaders closed the summit with a joint call for a more resilient, autonomous and united Indian Ocean region. Seychelles is one of the five IOC member states, alongside Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius and Réunion (France).
