The Chief Executive Officer of the James Michel Foundation, Mr. Jacquelin Dugasse, is in Mauritius this week to attend the 20th Plenary Session of the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia (CGPCS) taking place on  5-7 July 2017.

The James Michel Foundation was invited to attend the Plenary Session as an Observer. The CGPCS is currently chaired by Seychelles, under the chairmanship of Secretary of State of the Department of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Barry Faure.

Mr. Dugasse will be participating in two working groups; the ‘Indian Ocean Regional Capacity Building’ and ‘Maritime Counter Piracy and Mitigation Operations.’

Under the Seychelles’ chairmanship of the CGPCS, the development of the ‘Blue Economy’ is being highlighted as a critical component to peace and stability in the Western Indian Ocean.

The CGPCS is an international forum set up in January 2009, that brings together over 80 participants including States but also International Organizations, Shipping Industry and Non-Governmental Organizations, mandated by a UN Security Council Resolution 1851 (2008) to ‘foster closer international cooperation to address the scourge of piracy off the coast of Somalia’. 

The CGPCS aims at mobilizing international efforts to combat piracy off the coast of Somalia in various forms (militarily, legally, financially and politically).