Seventy-one (71) honorary consuls who represent Seychelles abroad are since yesterday attending their conference at the Savoy Resort & Spa until Friday October 28.
They were joined by the Seychellois diplomatic corps.
This year’s conference is being organised under the theme ‘Harnessing Opportunities through Diplomatic Relations’. The conference will discuss how to explore opportunities to bring additional benefits in various areas of national importance to Seychelles. These discussions will include presentations from various sectors, such as blue economy, tourism and aquaculture development, among others.
The foreign affairs department is hosting this conference to ensure that the honorary consuls are enlightened on our current national policies. This year’s edition is special in that it is being held in person for the first time since the onset of Covid-19. The theme emphasises Seychelles’ intention to capitalise on potential opportunities for the benefit of the country, to strengthen collaboration with its international partners, and to work in solidarity with them.
It aims to strengthen bilateral, multilateral, and regional relations for mutual benefit, as well as to remain visible and express itself on the international arena.
The opening of the conference was graced by the presence of President Wavel Ramkalawan, Vice-President Ahmed Afif, ministers and members of the diplomatic corps resident in Seychelles.
Minister for Foreign Affairs & Tourism, Sylvestre Radegonde, seized the opportunity on behalf of the government to acknowledge the valuable collaboration, in each of the countries where the consuls represent our country, the defence of its interests, the constant promotion of its image and protection of the Seychellois diaspora located in their respective consular districts.
“The actions you carry out within your constituencies consular services have significant positive impacts on the quality of life of not only the Seychellois community who is there but also on that of our citizens in the Seychelles. I will cite as an example the efforts deployed with spontaneity of many of you following the appeal launched by the President of the Republic to contribute to the fund of solidarity to fight against the pandemic. Your generous donations thus contributed to the financing of our large-scale vaccination campaign which allowed the authorities to keep the country’s borders open even when the pandemic was in full swing. It was a decisive measure for a country whose tourism industry is the main source of foreign currency inflow,” stated Minister Radegonde.
Minister Radegonde also spoke about how Seychelles continues to grapple with maritime threats, but following the success against piracy, now the country is focusing on the fight against drug trafficking and illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.
“There is, undoubtedly, a new world order emerging. And small as we are, Seychelles is in the centre of it. Our stance, though, articulated time and time again, is clear: we are for a just and equitable world order, based on the United Nations Charter, on multilateralism, on world peace and security, on international cooperation – and not on great power rivalry. And as this new world order gathers pace, fuelled by the conflict in Ukraine, and increasingly propelled by digitalisation, trade and financialisation, we must not lose sight of the existential threat from the triple planetary crises of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution.”
Speaking about our vulnerabilities which have been further heightened by recent global events – a two-year pandemic, global inflation in food and energy prices, supply chain disruptions, and international and regional conflicts – the minister added “as such, we will continue to passionately advocate for a Multidimensional Vulnerability Index (MVI). We also call on your support to leverage whatever influence you can in securing a universal adoption of the MVI for small islands developing states”.
Juan Gaspard Solves, dean of the honorary consuls, shared that Seychelles is such a lovely and unique country that he is content promoting the country. “You are an exceptional country and the people here are so welcoming and this is most important. For the years I served the country, I helped people who needed advice or help coming to Seychelles. I am very happy to be your representative in my country.”
Seychellois Maryvonne Pool who lives in Tanzania encourages the youth of Seychelles to come to Tanzania. “There are very few people among us who are Seychellois and serving as consuls. I believe that seeing what is happening in the world, Africa will be the one feeding the world. Seychelles has to work in close collaboration with Tanzania so that we can enter the African continent. In Tanzania, the country is making sure that the youth is in the forefront and I invite more people to come to Tanzania and see the various opportunities for joint ventures.”
Claude Morel, the dean of Seychellois ambassadors, explained that “the foreign affairs department is the core of the Seychelles foreign service, while the country’s diplomatic missions and the consular posts are the outposts that provide greater reach, visibility and substance to Seychelles’ diplomacy. This allows the country to be represented everywhere”.
The following consuls were rewarded with long service award by President Ramkalawan and Minister Radegonde: Juan Gaspard Solves – Barcelona, Spain – 42 years of service; Sylvain de Commarmond – Madagascar – 38 years; Shahid Ahmad – Pakistan – 34 years; Izzat Dajani- Jordan- 33 years; Gerard Le Chêne – Québec, Canada – 29 years; Marja-Liisa Rosberg – Finland – 29 years; Arie Goldstein – Israel – 27 years; Marko Smole – Slovenia – 27 years; Anne Lise Church – Seattle, USA – 27 years, Maryvonne Pool – Tanzania – 26 years; José Manuel Lapena Casamayor – Madrid, Spain – 25 years; Dr Rached Trimeche – Tunisia – 26 years; Laszlo Kiss – Hungary ‒ 24 years; Simon Mifsud – Malta – 21 years; Lennart Swenson – Umea, Sweden – 21 years and Sheik Said Bin Nasser Al-Khusaibu – Sultanate of Oman – 21 years.
Source: Seychelles Nation
