Year 2009 news highlights-As we come to the end of 2009, Seychelles Nation presents its readers with a month-by-month review o |31 December 2009

January

01.01.09: In his New Year’s message, President James Michel calls on all Seychellois to come together.
“If there is a year when Seychelles needs, more than ever before, all its children, that year is 2009,” he says, before announcing that the national theme for 2009 is Come Together Seychellois.

14.01.09: A new agency, the Seychelles Agricultural Agency (SAA), is set up to help develop the agricultural sector through technical support and services, and also by training the workforce. 
It will help to achieve the agricultural production targets set out in the Agricultural Development Strategy 2007-2011 and the Food Security Strategy 2008-2011.
Its other functions are to carry out programmes and projects in agriculture and to take part in national and international meetings.

21.01.09: An Abu Dhabi firm signs a memorandum of understanding for tuna ranching and other fisheries activities to begin here soon.
A representative of the firm, Asmac, signs on behalf of the company while Veronique Herminie, who chairs the Seychelles Fishing Authority (SFA), signs on behalf of the government.

21.01.09: Seychelles and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea set up bilateral cooperation in public health, medical science and traditional medicine through the signing of an agreement.
The agreement is signed by public health commissioner Dr Jude Gedeon and the Korean ambassador to Seychelles An Hui Jong.

25.01.09: SBC television starts airing a monthly programme featuring interviews and discussions with President James Michel. The launch of the broadcasts, called En Moman Avek Prezidan (Meeting the President), comes three months after the start of the economic reform programme. It gives the President the chance to talk about the progress of the reforms, new developments and other relevant issues that come up each month.

30.01.09: A new company on Praslin, the Praslin Transport Company (PTC), replaces the Seychelles Public Transport Corporation (SPTC) as the island’s transport service provider and will operate under the umbrella of the Praslin Development Fund (PDF).
The handover agreement was signed the day before by PDF chairman Michel Gardette and principal secretary for natural resources and transport Veronique Herminie.

February

01.02.09: Vice-President Joseph Belmont represents President James Michel at the 12th African Union (AU) Summit of Heads of State in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The theme for this year’s summit is Infrastructure Development in Africa, with a particular focus on the transport and energy sectors.

01.02.09: Vice-President Joseph Belmont officially launches this year’s national theme Koste Seselwa in a colourful ceremony at the International Conference Centre attended by President James Michel, among other guests.
VP Belmont, who headed the 2008 theme committee, closes last year’s theme and in a seamless flow of events introduces Koste Seselwa, whose committee he also heads.

03.02.09: A team from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) arrives in Seychelles to carry out its first quarterly review since the two-year Stand-by Arrangement was approved last November 14.
The mission, headed by Paul Mathieu, will hold extensive talks to evaluate performance at end-December 2008 under the country’s economic reform programme launched late last year.

17.02.09: The Rotary Club of Victoria hands over the first hospice offering palliative care – for people who can no longer receive any medical treatment for their illnesses – to the Health Services Agency.
The club decided in 2004 to help the Ministry of Health by building a hospice as one of the activities to mark Rotary Club International’s 100th anniversary.
It has taken five years to renovate a building at North East Point hospital that the ministry chose to turn into a hospice and has cost the club R1.6 million.

26.02.09: President James Michel delivers his state-of-the-nation address before the National Assembly.
The address marks the beginning of the working calendar of the National Assembly.

March

01.04.09: The governor-general of Australia, Quentin Bryce, arrives in Seychelles on a state visit, on the last leg of a tour of 10 African countries.
Mrs Bryce is accompanied by her husband, Michael Bryce, and other high-level officials, including the Australian high commissioner Cathy Johnstone, who is in the country after hosting the second Australian Film Festival the previous weekend.

02.03.09: The Minister for Health and Social Development Marie-Pierre Lloyd and Italian ambassador to Seychelles Pierandrea Magistrati sign a memorandum of understanding for a project to provide more modern equipment and improve the working environment in Victoria hospital’s operating theatres and surgical wards.
The Italian government has provided a grant of €250,000 for the purpose.

20.03.09: La Chine, par le biais de son ambassade, présente un lot de 10 autobus de 28 places chacun à SPTC, la compagnie seychelloise des transports Publiques.
L’offre de ces autobus d’une valeur totale de 8 millions de roupies (3 millions 200 mille Yuans RMB) rentre dans le cadre de l’Accord de coopération économique et technique conclu en février 2007 par les deux gouvernements, lors de la visite du Président Hu Jintao aux Seychelles.
C’est le Chargé d’Affaires de l’ambassade de Chine, M. He Yanjun, qui présente les autobus à Mme Veronique Herminie, Secrétaire principale au Ministère de l’Environnement, des Ressources naturelles et des Transports.

21.03.09: President James Michel holds the first of the district-level public consultations he announced in his state-of-the-nation address.
The aim of the series of meetings is to enable government officials, other leaders and the public to exchange ideas and engage in talks to help Seychelles progress.
The first meeting takes place in the Pointe Larue district.

24.03.09: The Ocean University of China and the Seychelles University Foundation sign a memorandum of understanding.
The Ocean University is renowned for its marine and fisheries sciences and is one of the key comprehensive universities under the direct jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China. It offers courses in science, engineering, fisheries, economics, literature, medical sciences, philosophy and law.

27.03.09: Seychelles officially opens its sub-regional search and rescue centre as it moves to play a bigger role in rescue missions at sea.
The centre, sponsored by the International Maritime Organisation, is based at the office of the Seychelles Coast Guard.
The new centre will feed information about ship movements in East African waters to a main centre in Mombasa, Kenya, as well as to other regional centres. Its area of responsibility includes the waters where the Somali pirates are active.

April

01.04.09: The 28 students of the Seychelles Young Leaders Programme (SYLP) start three-month attachments with organisations overseas.
The main aim of the attachments is to give the students a chance to apply the knowledge and skills they have so far gained from the programme in areas like telecommunications, media and accountability.

04.04.09: M. Joel Morgan, Ministre de l’Environnement, des Ressources naturelles et des Transports, participe à la 25ème session du Conseil de la Commission de l’Océan Indien (COI), en lieu et place de M. Patrick Pillay, Ministre des Affaires étrangères et membre du Conseil.
La session du Conseil se tient à Moroni aux Comores. 

04.04.09: A new association working to protect the environment and rehabilitate the coastal areas of Anse Boileau is officially launched by the National Assembly member for the district, Andre Pool.
The Anse Boileau Environmental Protection and Coastal Rehabilitation Association is chaired by Louis Loizeau, with Neville Dick as vice-chairman, Paul Bonnelame treasurer and Nimhan Senaratne secretary and technical adviser. It has three other members.

19.04.09: The new Anglican Church Bishop James Wong is consecrated in a colourful ceremony at St Paul’s Cathedral, Victoria, in a televised service led by the Archbishop of the Indian Ocean Ian Ernest.

26.04.09: Shana David from Takamaka is crowned as the first Miss Deaf Seychelles.
Miss David, a 24-year-old teacher of sign language, is crowned by Miss Deaf South Africa 2008, Portia Oliver.

The Seychelles Coast Guard arrests nine suspected Somali pirates during a joint military operation with European and Indian forces.
The arrests are made at the northern edge of Seychelles’ 1.3 million square kilometre exclusive economic zone (EEZ), which borders Somali waters.

May

02.05.09: A new employment agency called Job Plus (Seychelles) is officially launched by the Minister for Employment and Human Resources Development Macsuzy Mondon.
Based at Oceangate House, Victoria, it offers a wide range of employment-related services.
Its specialist areas include recruitment support, employment administration, training and development, advice and guidance on employment laws, staff care, payroll management, employee call centre, workplace upkeep and on-site human resources development

08.05.09: Principal secretary for finance Ahmed Afif and economist Shirley Chinien of the African Development Bank (AfDB) sign an initial agreement for a US $20 million loan from the bank.
The bank officials are here to appraise the Support to Financial Governance Reform Programme (FGRP).
The Support to FGRP is the first policy-based loan to help the government carry out its macro-economic and financial reform programme for 2009-10.

14.05.09: External auditors are in Seychelles to review the country’s seven major public bodies, assessing their financial performance and the integrity of their financial reporting.
The review, by Ernst and Young Paris, will look at the Seychelles Petroleum Company (Sepec), Air Seychelles, the Seychelles Trading Company (STC), the Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority (SCAA), the Public Utilities Corporation (PUC), the Islands Development Company (IDC) and Nouvobanq.
It will also identify any potential exposure to risk for the government as the majority shareholder in each of them. 

18.05.09: President James Michel opens a forum bringing together Seychelles’ main economic partners to discuss the country’s economic reform programme.

19.05.09: The Seychelles People’s Defence Forces (SPDF) receive supplies of ammunition from the Indian army.
Chief of Defence Forces Brigadier Leopold Payet accepts the donation from Indian high commissioner Asit Kumar Nag at the New Port in the presence of senior SPDF officers, Indian military attachés and officers of the INS Matanga – which carried the consignment.

28.05.09: Seychelles signs an agreement with the European Union for a short-stay visa waiver that enables Seychellois to travel to EU countries without a Schengen visa.
The agreement is signed for Seychelles by its ambassador to the EU, Barry Faure, and the Council of the European Union is represented by Helena Bambasová, the Czech Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Jacques Barrot, vice-president of the European Commission.

15.05.09: The European Union commissioner Joe Borg arrives in Seychelles at the start of a three-day visit.
The visit is expected to strengthen and open up new avenues of cooperation between Seychelles and the EC in fisheries and marine development and investment.

June

¬02.06.09: The governing party of Seychelles, the Seychelles People’s Progressive Front (SPPF) changes its name to Parti Lepep (People’s Party).
The change of name is decided by the party’s 24th National Congress on the day it celebrates its 45th anniversary.
President James Michel – formerly Secretary-General of the SPPF – becomes the first President of the Parti Lepep, while former President France Albert Rene takes on the new post of Founder Leader of the party.

08.06.09: Seychelles joins the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena) to become one of the 92 member states that have so far signed the convention.
The country’s ambassador in France, Claude Morel, signs the Irena statutes during a ceremony at the German Federal Foreign Office in Berlin.
Irena, a multilateral agency founded on January 26 this year, was created to help governments and private-sector industries worldwide to expand renewable energy use through the transfer of technology and to develop capacity building in that area.

15.06.09: Seychelles and South Korea sign an economic and technical cooperation agreement that will increase the number of exchanges between the two countries.
The agreement is signed by Philippe Le Gall, Seychelles’ resident ambassador in China and also non-resident ambassador to Korea, and Yong-Joon Lee, Deputy Minister for Political and Bilateral Affairs.

16.06.09: Health and Social Development Minister Marie-Pierre Lloyd and Chinese Ambassador Wang Weiguo lay the foundation stone for a new US $3.5 million hospital to be built at Anse Royale.
The 50-bed hospital, a gift from the government of China, will offer not just quality emergency services and quality inpatient and outpatient care but also provide quality diagnostic services. It will have a better laboratory, better imaging facilities and mortuary services.

16.06.09: The National Assembly unanimously approves a Bill banning smoking in all enclosed public places in Seychelles.
The Tobacco Control Bill allows the authorities to regulate the manufacture, use, sale, advertising and promotion of all tobacco products and is presented to the assembly by Minister for Health and Social Development Marie-Pierre Lloyd.
Members of both parties welcome the Bill and say once it comes into effect it will bring Seychelles on a par with other countries that have already introduced similar legislation to curb smoking.

23.06.09: Seven Seychellois held hostage by Somali pirates for almost three months return safe and sound to the country.
The men – Francis Roucou, George Bijoux, Patrick Dyer, Robin Songoire, Georges Guichard, Robert Naiken and Stephen Stravens – were on board the Indian Ocean Explorer on their way from Assumption to Mahe when it was seized by Somali pirates on March 27.

July

16.07.09: A new cooperation agreement is signed between the Cuban Ministry of Health and Seychelles’ Ministry of Health and Social Development.
The accord, which aims to strengthen the development of medical help and cooperation in various fields, is signed by Maria Aida Nogales Jimenez on behalf of Cuba and Designated Minister and Minister for Finance Danny Faure, deputising for the Minister for Health and Social Development Marie-Pierre Lloyd.

17.07.09: The Paris Club writes off 22.5% of Seychelles’ debts to it – half of the total agreed write-off of 45% – in line with an arrangement signed in April.

20.07.09: The African Development Bank (AfDB) approves a loan of €15 million for Seychelles after its appraisal of our economic reform programme. 
The funds will be used to complement other aid being offered to Seychelles by multilateral institutions to beef up the country’s reserves and help its balance of payments needs.

24.07.09: Moyenne Island is officially declared a national park. This comes exactly one year since the island’s owner Brendon Grimshaw signed an agreement with the Minister for Environment, Natural Resources and Transport Joel Morgan to designate the island as a national park.

27.06.09: The Democratic Party changes its name to the New Democratic Party and Ralph Volcere is endorsed as its leader.
Mr Volcere was named party leader in March when he replaced Paul Chow.

30.07.09: President James Michel sets up the Seychelles Energy Commission, which will work on all aspects of planning, development and training in the energy sector.
At the same time, the portfolio responsibility for the energy sector is transferred to the Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources and Transport.
Philippe Morin is appointed chairman and chief executive of the new commission.

31.07.09: The Joint Rescue Coordination Centre is officially opened by Minister for Environment, Natural Resources and Transport Joel Morgan.
The new centre, based at the Seychelles Coast Guard’s (SCG) naval base on Bois de Rose Avenue, will be run by the Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority, the Seychelles Maritime Safety Administration and the SCG.
Minister Morgan says the new centre will not only boost the search-and-rescue chain and cooperation that the International Civil Aviation Organisation and International Maritime Organisation have been recommending in recent years but also marks a significant step forward not only for Seychelles but for the region and for the maritime and civil aviation communities.

August

01.08.09: The portfolio responsibility for the Public Utilities Corporation (PUC) is transferred to the Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources and Transport.
As part of this readjustment, a new PUC board is appointed by President James Michel to strengthen the management of the utility parastatal.
The board’s mandate is for two years. 
Bernard Delaboudiniere, a French national, is appointed executive chairman and chief executive of the board, while Joel Valmont, chief engineer in the Electricity Division, is appointed deputy chief executive.

13.08.09: The government announces that the international credit rating agency Fitch Ratings has been appointed to provide long-term foreign and local currency credit ratings for Seychelles.
The London-based company rates over 100 sovereign issues worldwide and rates more banks in more countries than any other credit rating agency.

14.08.09: The Seychelles Paradise, the latest addition to the country’s fleet of tankers, is launched in Germany.
Mitcy Larue, member of the National Assembly for Baie Ste Anne, performs the naming ceremony at the Lindenau shipyard in Kiel-Friedrichsort.
The Seychelles Paradise was ordered by Sepec to ensure an economical and environmentally safe supply of LPG and other fuel to the inner islands.

21.08.09: Frederick Egonda-Ntende takes his judicial and constitutional oaths before President James Michel, becoming the country’s new chief justice.
Chief Justice Egonda-Ntende says he will dedicate his time and resources to getting a judiciary that meets our expectations by turning it into a centre of excellence in the region that compares with the best.
Congratulating the new chief justice, President Michel says he looks forward to an excellent working relationship between the executive and the judiciary. 

23.08.09: Le Père Collin Underwood, 29 ans, est ordonné prêtre par Mgr Denis Wiehe, Evêque de Victoria, en présence de nombreuses personnalités politiques, administratives et religieuses dont le Vice-Président Joseph Belmont et son épouse.

29.08.09: Seychelles is among countries from the Eastern and Southern Africa regional grouping (ESA) to sign an interim Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union.
The agreement is signed in Grand Baie, Mauritius, by EU trade commissioner Catherine Ashton and Swedish deputy trade minister Gunnar Wieslander on behalf of the EU.
Seychelles’ ambassador to the EU in Brussels Barry Faure signs the agreement on behalf of Seychelles.
The other countries to sign the agreement are Mauritius, Zimbabwe and Madagascar, while Zambia and Comoros indicate they will sign at a later date.

31.08.09: Seychelles and China sign an agreement through which we will receive the equivalent of 6 million yuan RMB (US $900,000) for military training and equipment maintenance.
The memorandum of understanding is signed at the Seychelles People’s Defence Forces headquarters by the chief of defence forces Brigadier Leopold Payet and the director of national defence at China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Major General Qian Lihua.

September

11.09.09: The Anse Boileau youths get their own internet centre as a result of the good relationship between the Seychelles and Chinese governments.
Chinese ambassador Wang Weiguo and the district’s National Assembly member Andre Pool unveil the plaque to inaugurate the new café, located next to the community centre.
The equipment in the centre, financed by the Chinese government at a cost of US $25,000, includes eight computers, printers, photocopiers and a scanner, among other facilities.

13.09.09: The last three Seychellois hostages – Conrad Andre, Gilbert Victor and Robin Samson – return home, seven months after the boat they were on was hijacked by pirates.
They are met at the airport by Vice-President Joseph Belmont, head of the hostage negotiation team Minister Joel Morgan and Community Development, Youth, Sports and Culture Minister Vincent Meriton, who also headed the family support team.
President James Michel sends a message of congratulations in which he expresses his gratitude and joy for the safe return of the three Seychellois men captured on board the Serenity in February.

17.09.09: The University of Seychelles is established in a ceremony at State House where President James Michel is named as its chancellor.
Dr Rolph Payet becomes its vice-chancellor and ex-officio president of its board of governors.
The board members are Sir Graeme Davies, vice-chancellor of the University of London; Prof David Attard, president and pro-chancellor of the University of Malta; Prof Mohamed Rochdi, president of the Université de La Réunion; Dr Shelton Joliecoeur, director of Trust & Fiduciary Services Ltd; Dr Erna Athanasius of the Health Services Agency; education expert Zotique Pragassen; Martin Kennedy, former director of the International Schools of Seychelles; and Benjamin Choppy, principal secretary for information communications technology. Elvis Julie will be its ex-officio secretary.
The university’s office bearers are Dr Payet, Elvis Julie as registrar and secretary, with Dr Gerard Adonis as dean of the faculty of humanities and Dr George Ah-Thew as dean of the faculty of science.

18.09.09: Les Seychelles et la France signent un accord sur le statut du personnel militaire.  L’accord définit les modalités légales de déploiement du personnel militaire français chargé de la protection des bateaux de pèche français dont Victoria sert de port d’attache.
L’accord est signé, du côté seychellois, par le ministre de l’Environnement, des Ressources naturelles et des Transports, M. Joel Morgan, et du côté français, par l’ambassadeur de France, son excellence M. Philippe Delacroix.

29.09.09: Seychelles and Australia sign an agreement whereby the latter will help Seychelles through technical support for the country’s ongoing economic reform programme.
As part of the agreement, signed by Minister for Finance Danny Faure and Australian high commissioner Cathy Johnstone, the Australian government is providing a technical adviser from its treasury, Dr Bryn Battersby, to build capacity in the ministry.
Dr Battersby will work with officers in the Ministry of Finance for 12 months on key areas of economic policy advice.

October

01.10.09: The new Baie Lazare primary school is officially opened by President James Michel and Chinese ambassador Wang Weiguo.
The new school, considered to be the best designed and most attractive in the country, has several blocks and includes a crèche as well as a range of modern facilities and ample space for more than 300 pupils and their teachers.
It is a gift from the People’s Republic of China.

02.10.09: Vice-President Joseph Belmont launches this year’s 20th underwater film and image festival (Subios) at the Berjaya Beau Vallon Bay Hotel, under the theme: Diving the granitic isles of Gondwana.
The activities for the night include a prizegiving ceremony for the 2008 winners of the photo and video competition, public voting on the new photos and videos for this year’s festival, a theme-based fashion show by Mangouya Studio and live entertainment.

06.10.09: An agreement is signed through which the European Union is boosting its support for Seychelles under its country strategic programme from €5.9 million to €8.4 million.
The agreement covers the period up to 2013 and aims at helping to support the country’s economic reform programme.
The accord is signed at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs headquarters at Mont Fleuri by special adviser to the ministry Vivianne Fock-Tave – who is ambassador designate to the EU – and the new ambassador and head of delegation of the Commission of the European Communities to Seychelles, Alessandro Mariani.

12.10.09: Delegates from countries of the region are meeting in Seychelles to draw up a plan of action against piracy and to strengthen ties with international bodies.
The meeting aims to draw up a draft action plan to implement the Djibouti Code of Conduct, an anti-piracy agreement signed on January 29 this year by 10 regional countries.

13.10.09: A detailed feasibility study of a Seychelles-East Africa fibre-optic cable link is officially launched.
The study, which will include an environmental and social impact assessment, is seen as a major step towards boosting internet and phone connections with the rest of the world.
Principal secretary for information communications technology Benjamin Choppy hands over the contract documents to the French consultancy firm Axiom, which has been chosen to carry out the study.

21.10.09: Minister for Health and Social Development Marie-Pierre Lloyd launches a new district taskforce to fight against the rise of social ills in the community.
The team is made up of police, social workers, district administrators, youth workers, school counsellors and support agencies such as the National Council for Children and the Drug and Alcohol Council.
Each district will have a taskforce representative to liaise and report on the local situation.
The role of the team will be to identify youths and families at risk and link them up to programmes that meet their needs. It will also set up procedures on how to tackle situations where service providers have to intervene.

November

07.11.09: Vice-President Joseph Belmont represents Seychelles at the fourth ministerial conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation being held in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.
A formal declaration and an action plan for 2010-2012 are to be adopted in Sharm el Sheikh, pushing forward cooperation in various fields such as agriculture, food safety, infrastructure construction, trade, investment and healthcare.
Other topics on the agenda include climate change, security and the consequences of the global economic downturn for developing African economies.

08.11.09: The head of the High-level Committee on Piracy, Minister Joel Morgan, and Belgian Defence Minister Pieter De Crem sign a memorandum of understanding aimed at stepping up the two countries’ military cooperation as part of the global effort to combat piracy in the region.

10.11.09: Seychelles and the European Union sign a Status of Forces Agreement (Sofa) to establish the legal status of foreign military and civilian personnel taking part in the EU’s Operation Atalanta against piracy.
The agreement provides a legal basis for the deployment of the EU NAVFOR naval force units and personnel in Seychelles’ territory. 

12.11.09: Minister for Employment and Human Resources Development Macsuzy Mondon launches a new national campaign under the theme Leve Debrouye – as a wake-up call for us to take on our responsibilities and be more productive.
She says the campaign is another decisive step in the national effort to help our working population become more resourceful, more industrious and more productive.
To kick-start the campaign, a two-day workshop on productivity awareness opens after the launch.

25.11.09: A new elite unit has been set up in the defence forces to counter piracy and help safeguard the integrity of our country.
The special force, named Tazar, is introduced to President James Michel, Commander-in-Chief of the Seychelles People’s Defence Forces, during a ceremony at the Seychelles Defence Academy.

25.11.09: Chinese ambassador Wang Weiguo and Finance Minister Danny Faure sign an agreement for the equivalent of a US $6 million grant, which will be used to finance a new Supreme Court building to go up on Ile du Port and to be called the Palais de Justice.

30.11.09: Minister for Finance Danny Faure delivers the 2010 Budget Address to the National Assembly.
The address marks the start of National Assembly proceedings on the Appropriation Bill 2010, which is proposing a sum of to R2,631,033,000 for the next fiscal year.

December

03.12.09: The speaker of Seychelles’ National Assembly Dr Patrick Herminie cuts the tape and unveils a plaque to officially open the new R51 million National Assembly building on Ile du Port.
The government of the People’s Republic of China has contributed R45 million to the cost of the building.

04.12.09: A Fair Trading Commission is set up to enforce laws on fair competition between traders and protection of consumers.
The new body has been set up under the Fair Trading Act as part of the current economic reforms.
As required by the Act, President James Michel appoints a board of commissioners comprising chairman Dr Shelton Jolicoeur, Philippe Chong-Seng, Annie Vidot, Dolly Tirant and Jenna Thelermont.
Daniel Gappy is appointed by the President as chief executive of the commission.

05.12.09: Minister for Community Development, Youth, Sports and Culture Vincent Meriton and the district administrator for Glacis unveil a plaque to officially open the district’s new community centre.
The centre, which has cost the government R5 million, has a main hall and an IT room, games room and meeting room along with toilets.
Work to build the centre started in 2007 and was completed in September this year.

11.12.09: The European Union (EU) signs for a €9 million grant bringing development grants this year to €17 million from an initial €5.9 million.
The grant agreement is signed by the head of the EU delegation for Mauritius, Seychelles and Comoros, Alessandro Mariani, and by Seychelles’ ambassador to the EU Vivianne Fock-Tave.

19.12.09: Finance Minister Danny Faure announces that Seychelles’ request for a three-year arrangement under the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) extended fund facility (EFF) has been approved.
The new arrangement for 19.8 million special drawing rights (SDR) – equivalent to about US $31.2 million – provides a macro-economic framework to guide fiscal and financial policies over the next three years.

19.12.09: Seychelles’ sixth tanker the Seychelles Paradise arrives at Port Victoria. The new 67-metre double-hulled tanker will be used to take oil and cooking gas to the country’s many islands, especially Praslin, removing the need to transport it in containers.

19.12.09: President James Michel opens a new visitor centre at the Vallée de Mai, which has been built by the Seychelles Islands Foundation at a cost of R4 million.