The Government of the Seychelles presiding over the CGPCS in 2016 announced the opening of its Secretariat. The functions of the CGPCS Secretariat are to provide support to the Chair in all of its duties and responsibilities; to plan the CGPCS meetings that are conducted under Seychelles Chairmanship; to manage the budget; to be the CGPCS front-office for the CGPCS stakeholder community and to administer and document all CGPCS processes. The Secretariat can be contacted by telephone +248 – 430 38 77 and via email: admincgpcs@mfa.gov.sc.
As part of the announcement, the Government of the Seychelles also outlined the key priorities it aims at emphasizing in 2016. The Seychelles aims to give a voice to the aspirations and needs of the region, and will hence develop a regional agenda. The slogan campaign chosen by Seychelles for the 2016 CGPCS Presidency is “From the Region to the Region: creating a lasting legacy”. For that matter, the Seychelles Chair will consult widely and intensely in the Indian Ocean region to seek actively the opinions, views, expectations from the regional stakeholders in the CGPCS. A major axis of Seychelles Presidency will be the development of the Blue Economy and looking at suitable platforms for the CGPCS as members reflect on achievements, objectives and how best to continue the work of the group in the years to come, and as an example through the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA). In sum the Seychelles presidency aims at
- Bringing the family together – an inclusive approach and process;
- Doing it together – Strength lies in unity
- The Seychelles aims to give a voice to the aspirations, needs and expectations of the entire Indian Ocean region
- From the Region to the Region – the Seychelles Presidency aims to create a lasting legacy