This was during a recent meeting in the National Assembly building at Ile du Port, which was attended by the CPA Canada chairman Russ Hiebert, secretary Stephanie Bond and member Carole Freeman. They were here on a four-day exchange visit from September 9-12.

The two vice-chairpersons of the Seychelles CPA’s executive committee, Marie-Louise Potter and Wavel Ramkalawan, were also present at the meeting, as well as members Nicholas Prea, Joevana Charles and David Pierre.

They discussed issues surrounding democracy, including the role of the parliament, the opposition parties and parliamentarians, and the role of independent media in a democratic society.

The Canadian delegation also met the chairpersons of the assembly’s Media Advisory Committee and representative from the Trade Division.

The aims of the meetings were for the Canadians to better understand the parliamentary system in Seychelles, to examine the methods of capacity building for the National Assembly and its members, and to identify ways to strengthen the relative positions of the two parliaments within the CPA.

 
The two branches are aiming to not only promote democracy in their countries but also in other Commonwealth communities.
“The results of our bilateral visit to Seychelles have been very fruitful and we hope to further develop our newly established friendship,” said Mr Hiebert.

He added that they look forward to working together with the assembly to promote democracy and find ways to serve their constituents more effectively.

The delegation is the first parliamentary group from Canada to be received by the National Assembly, and the visit precedes the 56th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference to be hosted by the Kenyan parliament in Nairobi this month.