Foreign Affairs department caps successful year |29 December 2023

The Foreign Affairs department said 2023 brought many achievements, where it constantly engaged with bilateral and multilateral partners to enhance cooperation. On the international arena, Seychelles continued to fight for small island developing states, and pushing for the Multidimensional Vulnerability Index (MVI).

There were also the signing of 27 agreements and memorandum of understanding in various sectors such as police, defence, agriculture, health, cooperation for Mutual Legal Assistance, among others. Seychelles also engaged with its bilateral partners to negotiate for visa waiver for Seychellois or simplify procedures for visa application when travelling. In 2023, the country signed four agreements for visa waiver with Commonwealth Dominica, Kazakhstan, Rwanda and Maldives.

Recently, Saudi Arabia, announced that Seychelles was being placed on the list of countries whose nationals will receive visa upon their arrival for tourism/leisure. Canada also announced that Seychelles is among the list of countries which can do their visa application using the Electronic Travel Advisory (ETD). 

In 2024, the department will continue to defend and promote Seychelles’ interest on the international scene. It will engage with partners to mobilise funding for the Disaster Relief Fund in the aftermath of the December disasters as well as other local projects.

In May 2024, Seychelles will take over the presidency  of the Indian Ocean Commission; a position that will allow the country to play a pivotal role in the implementation of the Indian Ocean Commission’s agenda, at a time where the commission is going through  modernisation, to render it more efficient and stronger on the international scene.

The maritime sector has a significant important for Seychelles and our vast Exclusive Economic Zone, is critical to our economy. We will therefore push for a secure maritime route and continue to work with our regional and international partners to maintain maritime security (Department of Foreign Affairs-December 2023)

January

The diplomatic work for 2023 began on January 12, with a courtesy call of the Director General for Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Corin Roberts, on the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Tourism, Sylvestre Radegonde, at the Maison Quéau de Quinssy. 

The two parties discussed existing areas of cooperation and agreed they could further expand cooperation in the fields of eco-tourism, identifying alternative sources of energy, food security, the Blue Economy and maritime security.