Vice President Danny Faure leaves Seychelles today at the head of the Seychelles delegation to the Rio+20 Summit. He will be representing the Head of State, Mr. James Alix Michel, at this United Nations Conference on sustainable development to be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from June 20-25, 2012.

The Rio+20 is a follow-up of the United Nations Earth Summit, which was held in 1992 in the same city, and in which countries adopted a plan to rethink economic growth, advance social equity, and ensure environmental protection.

The aim of this conference, held 20 years later, is to secure renewed political commitment for sustainable development, assess the progress made in implementing actions from major summits on sustainable development, and address new and emerging challenges faced by member countries.

The two key themes of the conference will be (1) a green economy in the context of sustainable development, and (2) the institutional framework for sustainable development.

The Vice President is accompanied by the Minister for Environment and Energy, Professor Rolph Payet.