Seychelles’ ambassador to Israel accredited |10 August 2015

Ambassador Waven William, resident Seychelles ambassador in New Delhi, India, has been accredited as non-resident ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to the State of Israel.

Mr William presented his credentials to Mr Reuven Rivlin, President of the State of Israel, on August 6, 2015.

Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Seychelles and the State of Israel on June 30, 1992, certain cooperation agreements such as the technical cooperation agreement came into effect in 1994 followed by the appointment of an honorary consul, Arie Goldstien, who has actively facililated several exchanges in the field of education, health, agriculture, media, internal security among others, in the form of short-term training, under the mashav programme of training and exchanges of experts in different fields, offered by the government of Israel.

The accreditation of Ambassador William is a milestone for Seychelles, as he becomes the first non-resident ambassador of Seychelles to be accredited to the State of Israel.

In his remarks, Ambassador William conveyed the well wishes of President James Michel, the government and the people of the Republic of Seychelles to President Rivlin and his government.

Ambassador William emphasised that his accreditation bears testimony that Seychelles wishes to maintain and enhance the diplomatic and bilateral relations which exist with the government of Israel.

He said that his accreditation will also ensure a more focused approach on the current existing bilateral cooperation and agreements signed.

The Seychelles ambassador also sought to further explore sectors of importance to Seychelles such as tourism, agriculture, health, technology transfer, culture, education, trade and investments, defence and security, environment conservation and renewable energy.

He also noted that to facilitate further trade activities, there was a need for the conclusion of the double taxation avoidance agreement, and urged to improve air connectivity and the joint cooperation in the tourism industry.

Ambassador William explained that since Seychelles is proactively advocating the concept of the Blue Economy and setting up different mechanisms to ensure progress in the development of this sector, the memorandum of understanding signed with the Inter-University Institute for marine sciences of Eilat can now be launched, as the government of Seychelles needs the support of international partners to replicate such institutes locally for the mutual benefit of both nations.

Ambassador William also brought to the attention of the Israeli President the excellent work done by Mr Goldstein in supporting and promoting Seychelles' interests in Israel.