Seychelles, Singapore aim to create synergies for shared growth |17 March 2015

Seychelles has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Singapore Cooperation Enterprise (SCE) organisation to allow the two countries to better share experiences and opportunities in a number of economic sectors including financial services, port development, trade and public private partnerships.

The MoU was signed in Singapore by the Minister for Finance, Trade and The Blue Economy Jean-Paul Adam and the chief executive of the SCE Kong Wy Mun.

“Singapore owes its success not just to its geostrategic location and its sound investment in the right infrastructure. It's success is built on the power of ideas and investment in people. Seychelles is also investing in people centred development and the power of ideas. It is natural that we seek to use Singapore’s experience to inspire our own economic development,” Minister Adam reflected shortly before the signing ceremony.

The SCE was formed in 2006 under the Singapore Ministry of Trade and Industry to develop capacities in partner countries for economic development building on Singapore’s experiences.

As part of the official visit to Singapore Minister Adam also met the Minister for Trade and Industry, Lim Hng Kiang, to discuss potential areas of cooperation and potential capacity building.

Minister Adam noted that the development of human capital has been a cornerstone vital to Singapore’s development success.

“This MoU will allow us to tap into Singapore’s expertise to better formulate our own economic development strategies. This opportunity comes at a key moment for us, where we seek to revamp our financial services sector and where we seek to further develop the Blue Economy concept by building opportunities around our port and maritime infrastructure,” the minister added.

The main areas of cooperation under the MoU are expected to be around the development of financial services and port services including transshipment and bunkering.

The two ministers also underlined that the signing in June 2014 of a Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement between the two countries was an ideal opportunity to further build synergies in trade and investment between the two countries.

Minister Adam also took part in a Singapore Business Federation Round Table meeting, chaired by Graeme Robertson representing the Singapore Business Federation, where businesses in the private sector of Singapore put forward their views on how they could tap into mutually beneficial opportunities between the two countries. The main potential areas of cooperation are in the renewable energy sector, education services and banking.

As part of his official visit, the minister also signed, on March 13, a MoU on behalf of the Seychelles Investment Board with the Singapore Business Federation. Through the MoU both parties agree to reaffirm their commitment to the progressive improvement of trade, industrial and other ties between Seychelles and Singapore.

In addition the MoU aims to promote cooperation in technology, investment and knowledge transfer between the two countries as well as identifying obstacles that may hinder the growth of trade and business.

An important tenet of the visit was to highlight the importance and relevance of the development of the Blue Economy concept championed by Seychelles, which takes into account the economic potential of the seas while protecting maritime resources.

In that context, the minister also met the Maritime and Port Authority to explore the possibilities of partnership between Seychelles and Singapore in the areas of maritime port development especially considering the strategic positioning of both Seychelles and Singapore to Africa and Asia respectively.

Minister Adam was accompanied by Philippe Le Gall, Seychelles’ ambassador to Singapore based in Beijing; Brenda Bastienne, director general for policy and strategy in the Ministry of Finance, Trade and The Blue Economy; Naadir Hassan, head of financial services supervision at the Central Bank of Seychelles and Randolph Samson, fiduciary manager at the Financial Services Authority.