10th EU-Seychelles political dialogue   |06 October 2023

Highlights of the opening ceremony

Seychelles satisfied with meeting’s outcome

Seychelles’ Minister for Foreign Affairs and Tourism, Sylvestre Radegonde, has said the country was very satisfied with the outcome of the 10th Seychelles-European Union (EU) Political Dialogue that took place at the Eden Bleu Hotel yesterday.

Speaking at the end of the one-day discussion yesterday afternoon, Minister Radegonde praised the ongoing relationship and commended EU’s ongoing support, citing the €2 million worth of technical assistance to the country, especially in agriculture and maritime security.

Yesterday’s talk between Seychelles and the 27-member organisation was in the presence of Ambassador Oskar Benedikt, who is the newly appointed EU ambassador to Seychelles.

A wide range of issues of mutual interest were agreed upon, namely in maritime security, sustainable ocean management and fisheries, trade and investment as well as climate change and environment protection, where enhancement in cooperation will be the main focus.

“I am very satisfied. The European Union remains an important partner for Seychelles and this partnership has not been developed now but over many years. The Political Dialogue that we had today is the 10th which means that we have been meeting every year for the past ten years for us to look at our relationship and to see what we can do more to build on this relationship. I am entirely satisfied that we have been able to go over the whole agenda, without cutting corners, and to address all the issues on the programme,” Minister Radegonde said.

For his part Ambassador Benedikt said the dialogue was necessary for EU given that Seychelles is one of its key partners.

“We also would like to support the Seychelles in its effort to diversify its economy, which is of course dependent on tourism and fisheries. We are the first provider of tourists in the country where fifty to almost seventy percent of tourists to Seychelles are from the European Union, an important provider of income and also the largest part of export of fish products go to the European Union and we are grateful for the cooperation in this area,” Ambassador Benedikt said.

He added that the EU would like to help Seychelles to remain beautiful and a stable country and to provide opportunities to its population.

During the dialogue, both parties reaffirmed their strong attachment to multilateralism, the UN Charter and the universality of human rights and shared views on the consequences of the Russian conflict against Ukraine and ongoing conflicts in the SADC region. They agreed to work towards strong and converging positions in multilateral fora with regard to global crisis and challenges. They welcomed the decision to make the African Union a permanent member of the G20.

They also confirmed their commitment to the full implementation of the Paris Agreement on climate change where EU has maintained a €2 million bilateral cooperation programme for the period 2021-2027 for tackling climate change notably, among various regional programmes.

The parties also acknowledged the positive impact of the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement (SFPA) on Seychelles’ fisheries industry, the development of aquaculture, and the artisanal fisheries infrastructure development in support of the needs of the fisheries communities and well-being of fishers towards improving their quality of life.

They reiterated their strong commitment to continue to prevent, deter and eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated fishing. They agreed to continue to enhance their cooperation in the framework of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission in favour of sustainable fisheries.

Their fruitful cooperation in the fight against piracy and the pivotal role of the Regional Centre for Operational Coordination (RCOC) hosted by Seychelles within the Regional Maritime Surveillance Mechanism was also acknowledged, including the EU’s major role as a maritime security provider in the region with the deployment of EUNAVFOR Operation Atalanta and the successful operations at sea it has carried out against drug trafficking as part of its broadened mandate.

Taking into consideration Seychelles’ concerns over the consequences of its overall rating as ‘Partially Compliant’ by the Global Forum of Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes and the efforts made reforming its legislative frameworks and administrative capacities for monitoring, the EU reaffirmed its commitment to continue to work with Seychelles and its readiness to provide technical assistance in tax governance.

The EU congratulated Seychelles on the improvements in six out of Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group’s series of 40 recommendations and confirmed its readiness to continue to work with Seychelles in the area of anti-money laundering.

Both Minister Radegonde and Ambassador Benedikt said that Seychelles and EU will be working together to ensure that the country was fully compliant of Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes and to eventually move out the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) grey list.

“This review has recognised the progress made by Seychelles in a number of areas but unfortunately in two or three areas there is still not a full compliance with the standards of the OECD which in consequence Seychelles is being placed on the list of non-compliance tax jurisdiction as it is called,” Ambassador Benedikt explained.

Minister Radegonde said that the issue dates back to 2018 following the closure of an off-shore company.

The dialogue which serves as a platform for open and constructive exchanges on a wide range of issues, from political cooperation and economic development to environmental sustainability and social progress and to strengthen ties, deepen understanding, and find common ground on matters of regional and global importance, is held annually within the framework of Article 8 of the Cotonou Partnership Agreement.

Following the meeting and press conference, the Ambassadors and distinguished representatives of the EU led by Ambassador Benedikt, paid a courtesy call on President Wavel Ramkalawan at State house.

Patrick Joubert/Vidya Gappy/Seychelles-EU Joint Press Release