New Australian HC to Seychelles accredited |20 October 2021

Dr O’Shaughnessy presents her credentials to President Ramkalawan (Photo: Louis Toussaint)

The new high commissioner (HC) of Australia to Seychelles, Dr Kate O’Shaughnessy, presented her credentials to President Wavel Ramkalawan yesterday at State House.

Dr O’Shaughnessy replaces Jenny Dee who recently returned to Australia.

She also paid a courtesy visit to Vice-President Ahmed Afif.

Speaking to the press after her meetings, Dr O’Shaughnessy noted that she is looking forward to fostering Australia and Seychelles’ warm relationship, building on the two countries’ strong people-to-people links and enhancing cooperation in areas of common interest.

“I was born in 1976 and Seychelles got its independence in that year too. I do feel there is a special connection between me and the Seychelles and also between our two countries. The President and I specifically talked about how to strengthen cooperation between Australia and Seychelles in the areas of the Blue Economy, climate change and environment, education and research, women empowerment and gender equality. We also talked about the collaboration between countries for the COP 26, which is an important forum for Seychelles,” remarked the Australian HC.

Dr O’Shaughnessy added that “Australia and Seychelles enjoy warm relations based on economic and people-to-people links, particularly in education and marine economic activity. Over the last few years, there has been increased cooperation between our two countries on developing the Blue Economy. I look forward to continuing this and building new partnerships between Australian and Seychelles institutions to support sustainable development of this sector”.

Furthermore, she noted, Australia is committed to working closely with Seychelles on maritime security, economic growth and sustainable development, including through the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), and the Commonwealth Climate Finance Access Hub.

Talking about the Seychelles diaspora in Australia, Dr O’Shaughnessy said the official census showed that “there are around 2,500 Seychellois living in Australia including first, second and third-generation Seychellois. We think there are many more than that. I lived in a far, remote area in Australia and I went to school with children from Seychellois parents. I think there are thousands of Seychellois in Australia”.

The Australian HC will be based in Mauritius and will serve a term of three years.

Dr O’Shaughnessy is a career diplomat. Born and raised in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, she holds a PhD in Indonesian history from the University of Western Australia (2007). She has served overseas in Ghana (2009-2012, 2014), Lebanon (2016), and Nigeria, Niger and France (2017). From 2013-2015, she was lead Africa analyst at the then Office of National Assessments (now Office of National Intelligence).

Prior to taking up her role in Mauritius, she was deputy director of the department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s Western Australia State Office in Perth.

Vidya Gappy

Some current facts from the Australian high commission

• The Australia-educated Seychellois alumni population represents one of the largest regional Australian alumni communities. Many are prominent in both the public and private sectors.

• A substantial majority of Seychellois education professionals are Australia trained.

• Australian technical assistance to the Seychelles has included assistance in the security, maritime crime, finance and statistic sectors. Australia assisted Seychelles to establish the Ministry of Finance’s Forecasting and Analysis Branch and has contributed to building capacity in the Seychelles Statistics Office as well as in customs and revenue management.

• Australia is committed to supporting Seychelles take action against climate change and early this year, partnered with the UN to support training in climate change diplomacy for Seychellois officials attending COP26.

• Collaboration between Australia and the Seychelles in Blue Economy research is increasing including through a collaborative MoU which the Seychelles Fisheries Authority and Australia’s peak scientific research body, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) share. Australia consultant, Timothy Skewes, is also collaborating with the Seychelles Fisheries Authority on an assessment of the Seychelles sea cucumber stocks.

• The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) and the Seychelles Financial Intelligence Unit established an MoU in 2018 to strengthen cooperation in the exchange of financial intelligence related to money laundering, terrorism financing and other serious financial crimes.

• Australian navy ships have been visiting Seychelles since 2011 as part of our combined efforts to counter piracy and maritime crime and ensure the safety of navigation.