Interview with Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Paul Adam at the end of President James Michel’s state visit to Vietnam |02 September 2013

‘Seychelles’ engagement with Asian countries is bearing fruits’

Minister Adam signing one of the agreements in the presence of President Michel

Seychelles and Vietnam signed five memoranda of understanding during President James Michel’s two-day state visit (August 28-29) to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Paul Adam was the signatory of two of those.

He signed the first agreement between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Seychelles, as well as inked the agreement on bilateral air transportation between the two countries.

Speaking to the media at the end of the two-day visit, Minister Adam said Seychelles’ engagement with southern and eastern Asian countries is bearing fruits.

Mr Adam described the visit as historic as it was the first undertaken by a Seychellois president since 1980 when former President France Albert Rene visited the east Asian country.

This visit has come at a key time in a global world of uncertainty.

“Seychelles and Vietnam are two countries that have done in their separate ways radical reforms in recent years and are reaping the rewards of those courageous and audacious changes that have been done. Going forward it means we are situated in a similar position and we offer each other access to key regional markets.

“For Seychelles, Vietnam gives us critical access to the Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) market on several levels – in tourism, financial services and others including fisheries. For Vietnam, Seychelles gives this country access to the African market where it is positioning itself more and more in view of its expertise and experience in manufacturing. The agreements signed will build the framework to monitor all the aspects of cooperation between the two countries,” said Minister Adam.

Labour and Human Resource Development Minister Idith Alexander penned the agreement on education cooperation between the Hanoi Tourism College and the Seychelles Tourism Academy, Mayor of Victoria Jacqueline Moustache-Belle signed the MoU on friendly exchanges and cooperation between the cities of Hanoi and Victoria and the fifth MoU on cooperation between the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and the Seychelles Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) was signed on behalf of Seychelles by SCCI chairman Marco Francis.

The agreement between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Seychelles signed by Minister Adam and Vietnamese Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, Ho Xuan Son, is aimed at encouraging closer and more frequent collaboration between the Seychelles and Vietnamese ministries of Foreign Affairs in order to enhance the cooperative relations across an array of areas including trade, technology and culture, as well as reinforcing the economic, cultural, scientific, and technical cooperation signed in August 2010.

Minister Adam said that a meeting will be held each year to review what has been done and what needs to be done. This, he added, is proof of Seychelles’ strong diplomatic relations with southern and eastern Asian countries which are bearing fruits.

The Bilateral Air Services Agreement (Basa) seeks to expand and diversify air travel between the two countries and the tourism market, with a particular focus on Seychelles to attract more visitors from the Far East and encourage business and tourism exchanges between Seychelles and Vietnam. This agreement was signed by Minister Adam and the Vietnamese Minister for Transports, Dinh La Thang.

The third agreement – the twinning agreement between Victoria and Hanoi – was signed to help strengthen the people-to-people ties between the two cities and to encourage exchanges in different areas such as economy, trade, science and technology, culture, education, sports, health, sustainable development, environmental protection, urban development, and tourism. It was signed by Victoria Mayor Moustache-Belle and the chairman of the People’s Committee of the City of Hanoi, Nguyen The Thao.

The memorandum between the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry signed by its chairperson Vu Tien Loc and SCCI chairman Marco Francis is aimed at strengthening economic and commercial relations between business communities across all sectors.

The memorandum between the Seychelles Tourism Academy and the Hanoi Tourism College will allow both sides to share their knowledge and skills across the tourism sector and collaborate more in eco-tourism. This agreement was signed by Minister Alexander and the Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Ho Anh Tuan.