Mayor of Bethlehem on official visit in Mauritius

The Mayor of Bethlehem, Baboun, is currently on an official visit in Mauritius till July 16. She arrived on Tuesday and paid a courtesy call on Deputy Prime Minister, Xavier Luc Duval. This visit will strengthen relations between Mauritius and the Palestinian State through cooperation between the city of Bethlehem and the Mauritian authorities. On Wednesday, Vera Baboun met with the president of the District Council of Rivière-Noire, Véronique Leu, and spoke at a conference on the theme ‘Palestine, Believe in the Future’ at the Sir Harilall Vaghjee Hall in the presence of Xavier-Luc Duval. The visiting mayor focused her speech on the universality of the principle of freedom and the right for the Palestinian people to enjoy it. Recalling that 66% of the Palestinian territory is occupied by Israel, Vera Baboun expressed the hope for the future generations to experience freedom. “Young people of Palestine, the builders of tomorrow, deserve all the rights enjoyed by all humans throughout the world.” On his side, Xavier-Luc Duval said that Mauritius has a major role to play in the Palestinian cause. Mauritius will use its influence with African organisations to this end. On Thursday, Vera Baboun paid two courtesy calls, namely to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Vishnu Lutchmeenaraidoo and the Minister of Local Government Anwar Husnoo. She visited the Creche of Bethlehem at Residences Père Laval, in Quatre Bornes accompanied by the Deputy Mayor of Quatre Bornes, Arline Koenig. On the same day, she conferred the honorary citizenship of Bethlehem upon Xavier-Luc Duval. On Friday, the Mayor of Bethlehem will meet Mauritian tour operators in Port Louis followed by a visit at the Aventure du Sucre. She will hold a conference on the theme “Living together in Bethlehem” during the evening at the Loreto College Curepipe. On Saturday, Vera Baboun will participate in an interfaith prayer organised by the Council of Religions at the St Francis Xavier church in Port Louis before leaving the country.