President Michel’s State visit to Kuwait-Opening up new avenues of cooperation |08 February 2008
Besides the signing of a Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTA) between the two
The President also announced that the possibility for Kuwait Airlines to fly to Seychelles was also discussed and that soon a bilateral air services agreement will be signed to allow for this eventuality.
Furthermore, the possibility of making available a line of credit for Seychelles to import fuel from Kuwait was also discussed.
President Michel was speaking to the media shortly after his arrival at the Seychelles International Airport on board a scheduled Qatar Airways flight. Accompanying the President on his visit to Kuwait were the Minister for National Development Jacquelin Dugasse, who was the one who signed the DTA on behalf of Seychelles; the principal secretary in the Office of the President Jean Paul Adam; and the special adviser in the Ministry of Finance Hans Aglae.
The Presidential delegation was met on arrival at the airport by Vice-President Joseph Belmont, the Chief of Defence Forces Brigadier Leopold Payet and Commissioner of Police Gerard Waye-Hive.
President Michel said that his two-day visit to Kuwait was at the invitation of the Amir of the Gulf State, His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, and was an occasion for him not only to reinforce personal ties with the Kuwaiti leader but also ties of friendship between the two countries.
Noting that there existed in the past a rich and diverse relationship between Seychelles and Kuwait, President Michel said that this was interrupted after Kuwait’s invasion by Iraq and the subsequent Gulf War.
And from discussions that he has had with the Amir and other people in authority, such as the Prime Minister, Minister for Finance and the Speaker of the National Assembly, President Michel said that there now is this strong desire by all parties to establish a strong relationship at all level so as to build a platform for a fruitful cooperation in the years to come.
According to President Michel, the Amir has expressed his desire to reinforce this cooperation and assist in bringing to Seychelles more investments which would contribute to the economic development of the country.
Likewise, the Speaker of the National Assembly, Jassem Al-Kharafi, has also made known his desire to establish close cooperation with the Seychelles National Assembly, expressing his wish to meet with a local parliamentary delegation to pave the way for this collaboration, President Michel said.
The President noted he also had intense discussions with the Kuwait Fund for Development, the Kuwait Investment Authority, as well as with the Minister responsible for Oil and Energy.
With the Kuwait Fund, which has provided much assistance to Seychelles in the past, talks centred on how the fund could help in financing infrastructural projects, among others.
Talks with the Kuwait Investment Authority focused on the possibility for the body to invest in commercial projects in Seychelles.
President Michel also met with the chairman and members of Kuwait’s chamber of commerce to see how the private sector there could contribute to the economic development of Seychelles by investing in various commercial projects here in partnership with the local private sector.
With the Minister responsible for Oil and Energy, President Michel said they discussed the possibility of making available a line of credit for Seychelles to import fuel from Kuwait.
President Michel said that towards the end of this month or early next month a high level and technical Seychelles delegation, which will include representatives of the private sector, will fly to Kuwait to follow up on his visit with a view to kickstarting the various projects that have been discussed.