04.06.11
Posted in Business and Economy, International Organisations, International relations at 6:51 pm by Robert Klien
A visit to the Seychelles that was aimed to conduct discussions for the 3rd programme review under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF), has just been completed by an International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission.
The delegation that represented the IMF was led by Jean Le Dem. The IMF mission met with President James Michel, Vice President Danny Faure, Governor of the Central Bank of Seychelles Pierre Laporte, Principal Secretary of Finance Ahmed Afif, as well as other senior government officials, private sector representatives and parliamentarians.
According to Mr Le Dem, the Seychelles authorities go on making progress in the reform programme.
The IMF noted that economic recovery in 2010 strengthened – real GDP growth is likely to have exceeded 6% and consumer price index (CPI) inflation was almost 0. So, despite some technical delays in government payments to one parastatal, the programme is on track.
Mr Le Dem indicated that the modernization of the tax system is continuing, which includes important steps toward the launching of a VAT, scheduled for mid-2012. The introduction of the value-added tax is aimed to improve integration in the economy, broadening of the base, elimination of cascading, and increased efficiency and fairness.
The IMF EFF arrangement was approved on December 22, 2009 for SDR 19.8 million or USD 30.9 million. SDR 9.2 million out of this sum has so far been disbursed. SDR 3.52 million should be available upon completion of the 3rd review expected to be carried out in May 2011.
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04.01.11
Posted in International relations at 1:02 pm by Robert Klien
Seychellois media professionals have returned from a 2-day conference in South Africa that focused on the role and responsibilities of media of Africa. The offshore jurisdiction was presented by 3 Seychellois professionals.
The forum was held from March 9-10at the University of the Witwatersrand. The event was organised and supported by the British and Canadian High Commissions in Pretoria and the British High Commission in Seychelles.
Topics under discussion included the right to know and access to information, transformation and democratisation in the media, models of regulation, issues in self-regulation, the role of government and society as well as mechanisms of accountability. The themes were exemplified by information from countries as diverse as the United Kingdom, Canada, Ghana, Tanzania, South Africa, and Nigeria.
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03.27.11
Posted in International relations at 3:51 pm by Robert Klien
Recently, goodwill visit was made by a Russian anti-submarine warship that coincided with the Carnaval International de Victoria. According to ambassador Mikhail Kalinin, this visit was a sign of the strong relations between Russia and Seychelles.
On March 19, during the carnival, the warship was open to the public, which was only the 2nd time a Russian warship had called in Port Victoria port since October 2009.
Bilateral talks between Kalinin and Vice-President Danny Faure focused on the ways to further boost relations between Russia and Seychelles. Kalinin said: “Ways to strengthen naval and military ties between the two countries were also discussed, and it was agreed that a Russian military attaché will be accredited here soon”.
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03.23.11
Posted in International relations, Tourism industry at 1:53 pm by Robert Klien
Tourism board heads from Seychelles, Mauritius, La Réunion and Madagascar have held a meeting with German tour operators in order to discuss the concept of the Vanilla Islands.
The Vanilla Islands is an affiliation of Seychelles, Mauritius, La Réunion and Madagascar in the Indian Ocean aimed to form a new travel destination brand. The project is aimed at the co-operation founded on August 4, 2010 at La Réunion to join forces and market the region, which should be more efficient than the solely individual marketing of each island in the past.
The meeting was held during the ITB trade fair in Berlin and was attended by Seychelles Tourism Board chief executive Alain St Ange, Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority director Dr Karl Mootoosamy, Ile de la Réunion Tourisme director Pascal Viroleau and Madagascar Tourist Office president Joel Randriamandranto.
As a result, a decision was made to launch the following activities to move the Vanilla Islands concept forward:
- to plan packages for the Vanilla Islands in collaboration with airlines flying between the islands – Air Mauritius, Air Seychelles, Air Madagascar, Air Austral, Air France and Corsairfly;
- to organise press trips to visit 2 or 3 islands in the group during April;
- to organise a Vanilla Islands roadshow in 3 or 4 German cities during May;
- to make a plan to train travel agents;
- to develop a website for the islands.
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03.10.11
Posted in International relations at 11:54 am by Robert Klien
India has sent a Dornier 228 maritime reconnaissance aircraft to Seychelles with a view to help to deal with Somali pirates.
This aircraft will be available in Seychelles for at least 2 years. In 2010, India offered to give Seychelles a Dornier 228 and 2 Chetak helicopters for anti-piracy duty, but Seychelles preferred India to simply operate this equipment on their territory until piracy threat is gone. A naval patrol boat and one Chetak helicopter have already been sent to Seychelles for anti-piracy patrol.
A court in Seychelles sentenced 10 convicted Somali pirates to 20 years in prison. This group of 10 pirates seized a 33-foot fishing vessel with 7 Seychellois crew members in November 2010. One pirate was killed in the rescue mission.
Seychelles’ Minister for Home Affairs, Environment and Transport Joel Morgan said: “The sentences will send a strong message to other pirates on the high seas that we have the capacity to capture, prosecute and jail criminals at sea who threaten our key fisheries and tourism industries”.
It is worth noting that Seychelles is one of several countries in the region conducting trials or intending to try pirates, while Somalia lacks the legal infrastructure.
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01.29.11
Posted in Diplomatic missions, International relations at 7:04 pm by Robert Klien
In mid-January, Seychelles’ Vice President Danny Faure made an official visit to Oman. The threat that piracy poses to sea trade was one of the most significant issues on the agenda.
Faure was accompanied by Foreign Minister Jean-Paul Adam and director general for trade Melanie Stravens. During the 2-day visit, he had talks with Omani Deputy Prime Minister Fahd bin Mahmud al-Said.
According to the Office of the Vice-President, Oman and Seychelles have enjoyed long-standing diplomatic relations, and now the 2 jurisdictions are expanding their trade relations.
It should be reminded that Seychelles has bilateral agreements with Oman for air services and double taxation avoidance (DTA). Also, the 2 countries have agreements for the tourism and fisheries sectors signed in 2002 and 2010. A memorandum of understanding has been negotiated by the Seychelles Chamber of Commerce and Industry with its Omani counterparts, and it is to be signed soon.
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10.30.10
Posted in International Organisations, International relations at 12:03 pm by Robert Klien
Former President of Seychelles James Mancham is attending the European Centre for Peace Development’s (ECPD) 6th international conference on Human Security Concept Implementation that is held in Croatia.
The opening ceremony was attended by Professor Ivo Josipovic, President of the Republic of Croatia; Ivan Jakovic, President of the Istra region government; John Maresca, rector of the University for Peace established by the United Nations in Costa Rica; and Professor Albert Maes, vice-president of the ECPD Council and chairman of the conference.
Mancham was chosen to deliver an opening address at the conference. In his speech, Mancham highlighted the need for a new world leadership where money is dedicated to peacekeeping. It should be noted that he was recently elected as a member of the council of elders of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa.
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10.12.10
Posted in Business and Economy, International relations at 7:27 pm by Robert Klien
Since Seychelles launched its reform programme, the jurisdiction’s economic success has raised the expectations of other small countries to achieve similar results.
This was announced by a Caribbean finance minister during the Small States Forum that was held in Washington DC at the weekend. It was when Danny Faure, Seychelles’ Vice-President, gave a keynote presentation on Seychelles’ progress since the beginning of the reforms in November 2008.
The meeting on October 9 was attended by World Bank president Robert Zoellick. At the event, Faure thanked the international community for its support to Seychelles during the ongoing economic reform. He noted that other governments have shown an interest in Seychelles’ determination, economic programme as well as in the strategy used to tackle the country’s external debt.
According to Harold Lovell, the Finance and Economy Minister from Antigua and Barbuda, “the Seychelles case, where massive macro-economic reforms were undertaken without doing irreparable damage to social gains achieved, gives inspiration to a lot of our fellow small countries.”
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09.17.10
Posted in Business and Economy, International relations, Seychelles government, Tourism industry at 11:25 am by Robert Klien
President of Seychelles James Michel made an official visit to Spain at the invitation of HE Mr. José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, President of the Government of the Kingdom of Spain. During his two-day official visit, the President of Seychelles was accompanied by the Minister for Home Affairs, Environment, and Transport, Mr. Joel Morgan; the Secretary of State in the Office of the President, Mr. Barry Faure; the Chief Executive Officer of the Seychelles Tourism Board, Mr. Alain St. Ange; and the Chief Executive Officer of the Seychelles Hospitality and Tourism Association, Ms. Jenifer Sinon.
Seychelles President James Michel has met with the President of Spain, Vice Presidents, and members of the Confederation of Employers and Industries of Spain. With the members of Confederation, President Michel discussed the potential for the territory to become a business hub for Africa. By words of the President, this meeting will deepen the relations with the private sector in Spain.
The President spoke to Prime Minister Zapatero about opportunities for Spanish investment in fisheries and tourism projects in Seychelles. Spain’s technical mission in Seychelles will study possibilities of the use of solar power on the islands.
During the visit, it was announced that Seychelles Tourism Board would be opening a tourist office in Madrid, which will be engaged in many promotional activities in Spain.
President James Michel also had an audience with His Majesty King Juan Carlos I of Spain. Following this meeting he said that during the audience they discussed many issues of mutual cooperation, the special friendship between the Republic of Seychelles and the Kingdom of Spain.
Seychelles and Spain signed Memorandum of Understanding on Defense Cooperation, the second MOU on Fisheries Cooperation, and the Declaration of Intentions in the Fight Against Piracy. The agreements were signed by Seychelles Minister for Home Affairs, Environment and Transport Mr. Joël Morgan and the Spanish Minister for Defense Mrs. Carmen Chacón.
By words of President Michel, Spain is prime partner of Seychelles, and these agreements will help to consolidate their partnership and extend the collaboration between the countries.
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09.11.10
Posted in International relations, Seychelles government, Seychelles legislation at 2:25 pm by Robert Klien
On Monday, September 6, 2010, the President of Seychelles James Michel met with Chen Zhili, vice chairwoman of the Standing Committee of National People’s Congress (NPC), the top legislative body of China. During the meeting, both parties pledged to enhance bilateral ties between the Cayman Islands and China.
By words of Seychelles president, the successful visit by Chinese President Hu Jintao to Seychelles in 2007 has pushed the bilateral ties between the two countries to a new high. Also, in his speech President thanked China for its support in the socioeconomic development of Seychelles, and said that Seychelles are ready to strengthen cooperation with China both in the international and regional affairs, as well as to support the one-China policy.
The same day, the Chinese official met with Speaker of Seychelles’ National Assembly Patrick Herminie. Chen Zhili said that China’s NPC attaches great importance in developing friendly ties with Seychelles’ National Assembly, and is willing to strengthen the exchange and coordination between the legislation systems of the two countries.
In the year 2011, there will be the 35th anniversary of the diplomatic ties between Seychelles and China. The countries are enjoying close cooperation in the international and regional affairs.
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