35th African Union Summit   Seychelles granted Kenyan scholarships in agriculture   By Roland Duval |08 February 2022

President Ramkalawan leaving the airport at Addis Ababa for Seychelles

With the growing demand for training within the local agricultural sector, precisely in the livestock department, Seychelles has been granted several scholarships from the government of Kenya, President Wavel Ramkalawan has announced.

This follows talks with Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta on the sidelines of the recently held 35th summit of the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Seychelles and Kenya have over the past years enjoyed long standing relations and the bilateral talks were an opportunity to identify and agree on the priority areas to deepen cooperation.

Still in the agricultural sector, the importation of a new breed of goat from Kenya is also on the government’s agenda.

In the medical field, Seychelles has managed to secure several specialised training opportunities for local nurses.

Discussions also included maritime security, whereby the trafficking of illicit drugs was the main highlight.

President Ramkalawan was speaking upon his return yesterday from the summit. He was welcomed at the airport by Vice-President Ahmed Afif, Commissioner of Police Ted Barbe and Chief of Defence Forces Brigadier Michael Rosette.

The president explained that the two countries will also receive the support and commitment of the Ethiopian authority since the country is the main channel for most illicit drugs entering Seychelles.

He added that Seychelles has been guaranteed the support of Kenya in future possible nominations at African Union and international level.

President Ramkalawan also extended an invitation to his Kenyan counterpart to visit Seychelles, as part of the existing cooperation agreements and to further boost bilateral relations for the mutual benefit of both nations.

The head of state explained that during the summit, several topics of discussion were not directly linked to Seychelles – for example malaria – but it was the opportunity to show our solidarity to our fellow African nations, while it was also the chance for Seychelles to share its various protective measures and protocols.

Human right was also another area where Seychelles shared its expertise during the summit.

President Ramkalawan also had the chance to meet members of the Seychellois community living in Ethiopia and with emphasis presently being put on the Seychelles diasporas, he invited them back in the country to make their contributions in its development.

President Ramkalawan also added that he is impressed with the work being done by the Seychelles embassy under Ambassador designate Conrad Mederic.

He said the summit was also a perfect opportunity to reaffirm Seychelles’ support towards the effort of the organisation to lift the continent which is packed with resources, while corruption remains the key factor, contributing towards its downfall.

Based on Seychelles’ ranking on the grid of Corruption Perception Index, President Ramkalawan said we have a lot of good qualities that can be used as examples, regardless of our size.

This, he said, include corruption, vaccination, human rights, democracy – especially on how the peaceful transition took place after the October 2020 general elections.

President Ramkalawan noted that his presence at the summit has reaffirmed Seychelles’ role as an African country.

He added that it was also an opportunity to learn positive problem-solving strategies which can be adapted to the local context, while it was also the chance to share our know-how with other African countries.