President launches Vision 2033, first National Development Strategy 2019-2023 |06 August 2019

Minister Loustau-Lalanne presents a copy of the Vision 2033 document to President Faure

Seychelles sets goals for the next 15 years

Vision 2033 together with the National Development Strategy 2019-2023 – two of three documents which will guide Seychelles’ development through to 2033 – were launched yesterday morning by President Danny Faure.

This was during a ceremony at the International Conference Centre of Seychelles and which was attended by ministers, members of the National Assembly, other key government and non-government officials as well as representatives of different groups in society, namely senior citizens and youth representatives as well as other guests.

During the ceremony, the Vision 2033 logo, under the theme ‘Vision 2033: Towards a sustainable and inclusive future’ was also unveiled.

It was in late October 2017 that the department of economic planning in the Ministry of Finance, Trade, Investment and Economic Planning embarked on a consultation process which brought together different groups from different sectors with different backgrounds, religions and age groups in society for visioning exercises.

The aim was to gather ideas and views to draft and validate a long-term vision and National Development Strategy (NDS) for Seychelles.

The visioning exercise stressed on promoting transparency, accountability and good governance and it helped identify common ground, forge compromises on the best way forward to achieve the set and desired goals for Seychelles and its people for the next 15 years.

The NDS is founded on six thematic pillars and it is the first national instrument that will prioritise and articulate a five-year development programme in greater details.

In his keynote address to mark the launch, President Faure said Vision 2033 and its accompanying National Development Strategy 2019-2023, together present a clear view of where we are, where we want to go, and over what timeframe.

“It is a vision that will take Seychelles into the future and that will guide us to fulfill our ambition to improve the quality of life of our people,” he said.

Thanking each and every one who has taken part and contributed to this exercise, President Faure said we all want to do better for ourselves and improve our quality of life.

“As government, we have the same ambitions, but on a larger scale. We want all our citizens to succeed and prosper. We want what is best for our people, for our families, for our communities, and our country so that each generation can look at the one that came before and be proud that they have done better. So that each generation can look at the one that is coming up and lift them even higher. This National Development Strategy document outlines the path, or our roadmap, towards a resilient, principled and prosperous Seychelles,” said President Faure.

For his part, Finance, Trade, investment and Economic Planning Minister Maurice Loustau-Lalanne described the two documents – the National Long Term Vision of Seychelles – Vision 2033 and the National Development Strategy 2019-2023 – as two development blueprints that translate the desires of the people of Seychelles to enjoy a higher quality of life through the process of transformation of our country.

“Vision 2033 captures our national aspirations; the National Development Strategy (NDS) charts the path that we need to embark on to achieve the targets and deliver on our aspirations,” Minister Loustau-Lalanne explained.

He said that for the next 15 years, the Seychelles Long Term Vision 2033 will be achieved through implementation of a series of three, five-year National Development Strategies, the NDS 2019-2023.

The NDS is a plan for a sustainable and inclusive future for the Seychellois people and it sets the agenda for the next five years.

Minister Loustau-Lalanne said the NDS shall henceforth be the government’s overarching development plan, which stipulates the medium term strategic direction, development priorities and implementation strategies.

The minister sincerely thanked the different stakeholders and partners who have worked closely with his ministry to collectively seek to address Seychelles’ development challenges.

“Vision 2033 is a national effort aimed at transforming our country. It is a plan for our collective future and it is up to all of us to make it work,” Minister Loustau-Lalanne stressed.

Meanwhile, staff of the department of economic planning will in the coming weeks start a campaign to educate people on the content of the two documents.