President James Michel’s state visit to Vietnam |31 August 2013

Seychelles and Vietnam open new phase of bilateral relations

President James Michel’s two-day state visit to Vietnam (August 28-29) at the invitation of the President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Truong Tan Sang, was the second official visit undertaken by a Seychellois head of State to Vietnam in 33 years.

President Michel led a high-level delegation comprising ministers, senior government officials and representatives from the business community.

During their meeting, the two Presidents acknowledged the “true and sincere friendship” that exists between the two countries. They reaffirmed their commitment to opening a new phase of bilateral relations between Vietnam and Seychelles based on a common vision, shared values, mutual respect, and common goals and interests.

To this end, they expressed their willingness to further strengthen government, commercial and people-to-people linkages, and to further ease the movement of persons and goods between the two countries. Both Presidents also reconfirmed their wish to see a Vietnamese ambassador accredited to Seychelles.

The two leaders agreed that more frequent high level exchanges will bring added impetus to both the political friendship and economic, social and cultural partnership developing between the two countries.

They also stressed the great importance of the meetings held during this official visit with the secretary general of the central committee of the Communist Party Ngyen Phu Trong and the Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung as new avenues of cooperation between the main institutions of the two countries were then successfully explored.

They discussed the various frameworks that the two countries have established over the years to consolidate their ties of cooperation which include the Technical Assistance Agreement signed in 1986 and the Economic, Cultural, Scientific and Technical Cooperation Agreement signed in August 2010. They agreed to work towards creating new partnerships between the two countries in areas including political and diplomatic relations, trade and investment, civil aviation, education and training, renewable energy and environment, agriculture, fisheries, oil exploration, culture, sports, and tourism.

President Michel congratulated Vietnam for the high and steady growth achieved over the last decade and for the successful extensive reforms accomplished which have made Vietnam one of the emerging economies in the 'south'.

President Truong Tan Sang praised Seychelles for the great accomplishments in socio-economic development in the recent years as well as Seychelles’ significant contribution to peace and stability in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region in particular and Africa at large.

The two leaders welcomed the signing of the following agreements:

a.)   MoU between the Seychelles Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs;
b.)   Bilateral air services agreement between the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam and the Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority;
c.)   Twinning MoU between Victoria and Hanoi;
d.)   MoU between the Seychelles Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) and the Vietnamese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI);
e.)   MoU between the Seychelles Tourism Academy and the Hanoi Tourism College.

The two leaders also discussed Seychelles’ and Vietnam's growing trade and investment relationship and agreed that an expanded and balanced trade relationship would benefit both nations. The signing of the double taxation avoidance agreement in October 2005 and the signing of the MoU between the two chambers of commerce during this official visit were seen as important frameworks to increase trade and investment linkages between the two countries in such fields as tourism, oil exploration, renewable energy, agriculture and infrastructure.

The two leaders also supported the recommendations of the Seychelles-Vietnam business forum jointly organised by the VCCI and the SCCI with the support of the Seychelles embassy and Seychelles Investment Board, which called for more exchanges between the two business communities.

They welcomed the establishment of a regular dialogue and consultations between their two foreign ministries.
Discussions between the two leaders also centred on the potential of developing cooperation between the two countries in the defence and security sector. They agreed to expand mutually beneficial cooperation to enhance capabilities and sharing of experience in maritime law enforcement and combating various transnational crimes including piracy and drug trafficking.

The two leaders noted their countries' constructive cooperation in various international forums and discussed various international issues of mutual interest. They had an in-depth exchange of views on the green and blue economy as a tool for sustainable development and on measures that could be taken both bilaterally and multilaterally to increase their resilience to climate change and enhance food security through the promotion of clean energy, energy efficiency, and sustainable development. Both Presidents acknowledged that in the “Century of the Sea” there are many experiences to be shared between the two maritime nations in ensuring the sustainability of ocean resources.

The two Presidents recognised that one of the greatest strengths in the Vietnam-Seychelles relationship lies in their common will to promote and protect the French language. They therefore renewed their commitment in developing joint partnerships with the aim of promoting more effectively the French language in their respective country.

The two leaders also noted their countries’ constructive cooperation across the international fora such as the United Nations and La Francophonie. They also agreed to deepen the collaboration between the two countries in those international organisations.

President Michel reiterated the strong commitment of Seychelles to work in close collaboration with Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) community in order to develop win-win partnerships in various sectors of mutual interest.

Vietnam President Truong Tan Sang thanked Mr Michel for the Seychelles government’s recognition of the full market-economy status of Vietnam and noted that this decision was a great contribution to the relationship of friendship and cooperation between the two countries.

President Michel thanked Mr Sang for the warm hospitality extended to him and the accompanying delegation. The President conveyed his hope that he can also welcome President Truong Tan Sang for a state visit to Seychelles in the very near future.