On the sidelines of the 6th EU-AU Summit in Belgium   President meets, holds talks with key personalities |21 February 2022

President Ramkalawan with Mrs von der Leyen

On the sidelines of the 6th European Union-African Union Summit taking place in Belgium, President Wavel Ramkalawan has met and held talks with several high-level personalities.

On Friday, the head of state held a bilateral discussion with the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.

On behalf of the Seychelles government, the President expressed appreciation for all the support given by the EU and for being an excellent partner in the development of Seychelles.

He availed of the opportunity to brief Mrs von der Leyen of pertinent priority items for Seychelles at present.

“As a small island developing state, Seychelles continues to feel the brunt of the effects of climate change and environmental degradation. We believe that more emphasis is needed to speed up climate action by high emitting countries and we welcome any support to Seychelles and other island states on climate adaptation, climate mitigation and emergency preparedness. The pandemic has taught all of us many lessons. For Seychelles, my government has found it of paramount importance for the country to diversify its economy. In this regard, I hope that the EU will also consider to assist us improve the business landscape and implement modern financing mechanisms,” said President Ramkalawan.                                                                                    

During the meeting, President Ramkalawan and Mrs von der Leyen discussed issues of mutual interest and of value to both Seychelles and the EU, in which they explored new avenues of cooperation such as environment, climate change, ocean governance/blue economy, fisheries, maritime security, law enforcement/cybercrime.

They also spoke about ongoing cooperation in the fight against corruption, about capacity building in the fisheries sector and the conversion to modern technologies, the good governance structure of the ocean, blue economy, the vulnerability of small island developing states (Sids) and maritime security among others. 

Mrs von der Leyen conveyed the commitment of EU to continue partnering with the Seychelles and providing technical assistance where necessary. And as a long standing partner of this island nation further pledged to enhance cooperation in key areas of mutual interest.

Another personality that President Ramkalawan met was the founder of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, Mohammed Ibrahim. 

Their dialogue centered on the operation of the foundation where they discussed new ideas and promising projects, the Ibrahim index of African Governance, the future of Africa-Europe relationship, access to vaccines and how Seychelles has excelled in this regard.

The two leaders shared views on African leadership, good governance in Africa, in which the president highlighted the recent developments in Seychelles in the fight against corruption.

He echoed that this should be an example for the African continent and that the continent should follow suit in the fight and eradication of the scourge of corruption.

The president also informed Mr Ibrahim of Seychelles recent changes, putting more focus on people centered development, where Seychellois is getting to know their worth, thus creating a sense of ownership, togetherness and inclusive development.

Economically, in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, Seychelles’ performance in terms of tourism is slowly improving, and the outlook is very promising.

While in Belgium President Ramkalawan also took the opportunity to have an exchange with the director general of the World Trade Organisation, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, on the margins of the Summit where he congratulated her on her latest appointment at the helm of the organisation. She is the first African woman to assume such a position.

Since Seychelles will this year have its WTO Trade Policy Review in December, the president solicited the support of the organisation and its members for a swift and very conclusive review, that takes into context the specificities of Sids and the issue of Special and Differential Treatment.

During their discussions, they touched on the issues of fisheries subsidies and the TRIP waiver for the production of vaccines by other WTO members. President Ramkalawan reassured her of the full support of Seychelles.

Preliminary preparations for the Trade Policy Review is underway and a WTO team is expected to visit Seychelles next month.

Compiled from press releases from State House