Changes underway in Foreign Affairs department |04 December 2020

The Foreign Affairs department is undertaking fundamental changes in its organisational structure, which will be completed by the end of the year.

This was announced by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Tourism, Ambassador Sylvestre Radegonde, explaining that the organisational and functional changes are necessary to ensure a more streamlined and efficient structure through the re-allocation of bilateral and multilateral portfolios, among other factors.

In line with these changes, and after taking into consideration the present financial constraints faced by the country, three of Seychelles’ overseas missions, namely, in Colombo, Havana and Geneva will be closed.

Their heads of missions, respectively Ambassador Conrad Mederic, Ambassador Lalatiana Accouche and Gayethri Pillay are being recalled to Seychelles to assume other responsibilities.

The Seychelles high commissioner to the United Kingdom, Ambassador Derick Ally, is also being recalled to Seychelles to take up another assignment in the department.

Ambassador Marie-Antoinette Rose-Quatre, having completed her term as high commissioner to the Republic of South Africa, has already been assigned new responsibilities in the department.

In a related development, Ambassador Dick Esparon has announced his resignation, which has been accepted with regret by President Wavel Ramkalawan. Ambassador Esparon was appointed as Ambassador

Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary in July 2007 and was accredited as Seychelles’ first resident high commissioner to Delhi in February 2008. He was in post for three years until his appointment as resident

ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, a post he held before being appointed as secretary of state for Poverty Alleviation in 2016. He subsequently rejoined Foreign Affairs in 2019 in his capacity of an

ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary and earlier this year was appointed ambassador to the Indian Ocean countries.

In yet another development, Ambassador Ronnie Jumeau has announced his retirement from government service. Ambassador Jumeau is Seychelles’ ambassador to the United States of America and Permanent Representative to the United Nations (UN). Ambassador Jumeau, it is to be noted, was first appointed to this post in 2007, after which he was assigned a different post in 2012, serving as ambassador for Climate Change and Small Island Developing States, cumulating to date all the afore-mentioned posts in a long-serving diplomatic career.

President Ramkalawan and Minister Radegonde have extended their gratitude to both Ambassador Esparon and Ambassador Jumeau for their invaluable contribution to the country’s diplomatic service, hard

work and loyalty, and wished them every success in their future endeavours.

Replacements for the vacant posts will be announced at a later date.

Press release from the department of Foreign Affairs