Republic of Mauritius- First Session of the Seventh National Assembly held today

Mr Sooroojdev Fokeer was elected Speaker of the National Assembly upon the proposal of the Prime Minister, Minister of Defense, Home Affairs and External Communications, Minister for Rodrigues, Outer Islands and Territorial Integrity, Mr Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, and seconded by the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Energy and Public Utilities, Mr Ivan Leslie Collendavelloo.

Mr Zahid Nazurally has been elected Deputy Speaker and Mr Vikash Nuckcheddy, Deputy Chairperson of Committees.

Mr Phokeer has been appointed Speaker of the National Assembly in accordance with the provisions of Section 32 of the Constitution and Standing Order 7 of the Standing Orders and Rules of the National Assembly. He joined politics in 1993 and was elected in Constituency No. 14 Savanne and Black River in the 1991 General Election to serve the then Legislative Assembly.

In 1994, Mr Phokeer was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary. During that mandate, he also served as Member on the Public Accounts Committee. In 2001, Mr Phokeer was appointed Ambassador to Egypt.  He came back to Mauritius in 2004 to assume responsibility as Special Advisor to the Ministry of Agro Industry until 2005. In 2010 he was designated as Permanent Representative to the African Union.

From 2015 to 2019, he served as Ambassador of Mauritius to the United States of America with concurrent accreditation to Canada, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Brazil and Mexico.

The session was followed by a statement of the Prime Minister on the Chagos Archipelago.