The new high commissioner (HC) of Australia to Seychelles, Dr Kate O’Shaughnessy, presented her credentials to President Wavel Ramkalawan yesterday at State House.
Dr O’Shaughnessy replaces Jenny Dee who recently returned to Australia.
She also paid a courtesy visit to Vice-President Ahmed Afif.
Speaking to the press after her meetings, Dr O’Shaughnessy noted that she is looking forward to fostering Australia and Seychelles’ warm relationship, building on the two countries’ strong people-to-people links and enhancing cooperation in areas of common interest.
“I was born in 1976 and Seychelles got its independence in that year too. I do feel there is a special connection between me and the Seychelles and also between our two countries. The President and I specifically talked about how to strengthen cooperation between Australia and Seychelles in the areas of the Blue Economy, climate change and environment, education and research, women empowerment and gender equality. We also talked about the collaboration between countries for the COP 26, which is an important forum for Seychelles,” remarked the Australian HC.
Dr O’Shaughnessy added that “Australia and Seychelles enjoy warm relations based on economic and people-to-people links, particularly in education and marine economic activity. Over the last few years, there has been increased cooperation between our two countries on developing the Blue Economy. I look forward to continuing this and building new partnerships between Australian and Seychelles institutions to support sustainable development of this sector”.
Furthermore, she noted, Australia is committed to working closely with Seychelles on maritime security, economic growth and sustainable development, including through the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), and the Commonwealth Climate Finance Access Hub.
Talking about the Seychelles diaspora in Australia, Dr O’Shaughnessy said the official census showed that “there are around 2,500 Seychellois living in Australia including first, second and third-generation Seychellois. We think there are many more than that. I lived in a far, remote area in Australia and I went to school with children from Seychellois parents. I think there are thousands of Seychellois in Australia”.
The Australian HC will be based in Mauritius and will serve a term of three years.
Dr O’Shaughnessy is a career diplomat. Born and raised in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, she holds a PhD in Indonesian history from the University of Western Australia (2007). She has served overseas in Ghana (2009-2012, 2014), Lebanon (2016), and Nigeria, Niger and France (2017). From 2013-2015, she was lead Africa analyst at the then Office of National Assessments (now Office of National Intelligence).
Prior to taking up her role in Mauritius, she was deputy director of the department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s Western Australia State Office in Perth.
Source: Seychelles Nation
