Seychelles and Uruguay open diplomatic relations |20 November 2008

Their permanent representatives to the United Nations in New York – Ronny Jumeau for Seychelles and Jose Luis Cancela for Uruguay – agreed on the growing need for smaller middle-income countries (MICs) to join forces in making their voices heard in the global food, energy, financial and climate crises.

Uruguay, the second smallest country in South America after Suriname, is one of the most stable states in the region with a solid reputation with investors. Seychelles and Uruguay (population 3.5 million) are both MIC members of the Forum of Small States at the UN.

Both countries believe the time has come, as more least-developed countries (LDCs) graduate to middle-income status, for the MICs to push harder for a review of the way in which countries are economically categorised by the international financial system. This is to stop some MICs sliding back towards LDC status in the face of the unprecedented number of worldwide crises.

Mr Jumeau and Mr Cancela also agreed that the spread of the financial crisis to the furthest corners of the globe made it imperative to increase South-South cooperation so that like-minded developing countries with similar experiences and facing similar challenges could help each other better.

Like Seychelles with its fisheries, Uruguay relies heavily on agricultural exports, leaving it particularly vulnerable to slumps in commodity prices, rises in transport costs and global economic slowdowns.