Mamoudzou, October 15, 2020
The 25th Annual Conference of the Presidents of the ORs in Mayotte will be the first to be held by videoconference on November 26 and 27, 2020.
“Uncertainties on the national and European health and sanitary situation, as well as feedback received from various institutions and partner regions, have led me to rethink the proposed organization of the 25th Conference of the ORs” indicated President Soibahadine Ibrahim Ramadani, President of Mayotte and President of the Conference of the Presidents of the Outermost Regions.
This 25th Conference will be held as scheduled- Thursday 26th and Friday 27th of November – by videoconference, “what we believe to be the surest way to hold essential debates to defend OR’s interests” specifies the president.
Mayotte intends to make this Annual Conference an exemplary highlight in terms of technical quality, of the ecological footprint (less travelling), but also remotely promoting the region, by seeking innovative ways to promote the lagoon island. The Conference will involve predominantly local service providers in order to maintain within the region its significant benefits.
“Beyond the already significant achievements of our presidency, we intend to make this 1st dematerialized Conference of the Presidents of the Outermost Regions a showcase of our region, geared to the strong expectations of the population from the concerned regions ” recalls Soibahadine Ibrahim Ramadani.
“The services of the Département of Mayotte, of which I am President, are already working order to create conditions for a modern Conference in a new format, which will testify to our ability to adapt “, notes the President.
If this new format will favor videoconferencing with the eight other outermost regions, the European institutions and member States, a physical reception will still exist with an invitation addressed to the mayors and main local authorities of the island for the partnership session taking place on November 27th.
In substance, the president noted: “These debates are all the more crucial as they will take place at the very moment when the European negotiations, which are more and more intense, must lead to an agreement by the end of year in order to launch the next programming period. In addition to our vigilance on the next legislative framework, the negative impact of Covid-19 on island or landlocked economies in the ORs remains a major concern “.
Knowing how to adapt to a new, unprecedented situation is not the only challenge of this Conference of the Presidents but more broadly of Mayotte’s chairmanship which, as soon as it began in February 2020, had to face the Covid-19 pandemic.