President of Seychelles offers condolences after passing of longtime leader of Mauritius, Anerood Jugnauth
Diplomacy |Author: Betymie Bonnelame | June 4, 2021, Friday @ 18:23| 4622 views
Ramkalawan described Anerood Jugnauth as the father of the economic miracle of Mauritius. (State House)
(Seychelles News Agency) - The Seychelles’ President Wavel Ramkalawan sent a message of condolence to Mauritian Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth on Friday to express his deep sympathies following the death of former President and Prime Minister Anerood Jugnauth, the Foreign Affairs department said.
The former prime minister of Mauritius, who is credited with steering the island nation's economic transformation as its longest-serving leader, died on Thursday at the age of 91.
In his message, Ramkalawan said that the death of Anerood Jugnauth, whom he described as the father of the economic miracle of Mauritius, “constitutes an immeasurable loss not only for Mauritius but also for all the sub-region and Africa as a whole."
Sir Jugnauth, who was born on March 29, 1930, was one of the men most respected politicians in Mauritius and served twice as President of the island nation and six times as Prime Minister. He left the post of Prime Minister to his son Pravind Jugnauth in 2017.
Ramkalawan said that “in this painful circumstance, I would like, on behalf of the Seychellois people, government and on my own behalf, express to Your Excellency, to the people of Mauritius as well as to all his family, all of them hard hit, my deepest compassion and deepest condolences.”
The President of Seychelles, an archipelago in the western Indian Ocean, added that “Sir Jugnauth served his country with selflessness and passion during his long and rich career and the countries of the Indian Ocean will remember him for a long time not only as the politician endowed with a force of conviction and great wisdom but will keep also in memory his leadership and the central role he played in the creation and launching of the Indian Ocean Commission.
Ramkalawan ended by saying that “we remember Sir Jugnauth as a Great statesman who knew how to combine competence and modesty, and who always gave the best of himself to ensure the strengthening and consolidation of fraternal relations of cooperation which exist between Mauritius and Seychelles.”