New Czech ambassador hails Seychelles’ political stability and economic progress |15 October 2014

The new ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of the Czech Republic to Seychelles, Karel Hejč, has hailed Seychelles as being a democratic country with political stability and open market economy.

These attributes, he said, are crucial to attract investors to exploit the opportunities available even if the islands are much smaller than their giant African neighbours.

Mr Hejč said this after presenting his credentials to President James Michel at State House yesterday as the sixth Czech ambassador to be accredited here.

“Cooperation between the Czech Republic and the Republic of Seychelles is enormous – in fact it exceeds many African countries which are much bigger and more accessible than Seychelles. That is something very impressive. I believe it is thanks to the hard work the Seychelles has done since its independence. It’s a democratic country with a political stability and with open market economy. These things are crucial for any other country’s investors to come and see the opportunities. I believe there is a lot of work to do,” said Ambassador Hejč.

The Czech Republic and the Republic of Seychelles have enjoyed very good relations ever since the Seychelles gained its independence back in 1976. Cooperation in the field of education is more prominent and the ambassador mentioned local dignitaries that have studied in Prague like the current Speaker of the National Assembly, Dr Patrick Herminie.

“But although we are friends we should not be satisfied only with that. There is always potential to expand this friendly relations into something more advanced, a more materialised friendship,” said the ambassador.

Recognising that there are challenges for both countries – the Czech Republic being landlocked and the Seychelles surrounded by the ocean – he said he does not consider these specificities as obstacles for cooperation between the two countries.

He said as Seychelles now has its own university, the University of Seychelles and that of his country can cooperate in a number of programmes.
The ambassador of the Czech Republic will be based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.