President unveils new world of opportunities and investment

President James Michel on Thursday opened the doors to increased tourism cooperation and investment from the Middle East.

He did so when he symbolic unveiled the plaque of the new Embassy of the Republic of Seychelles in the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Abu Dhabi.

The President – in his capacity as Minister for Tourism – also inaugurated the Seychelles Tourism Office, which is based in the embassy.

“This day heralds a new era of cooperation between Seychelles and the United Arab Emirates. We have already made great strides in the development of our friendship and bilateral relations. Now our embassy and the tourism office will open a world of opportunities for increasing the number of visitors from the Gulf and Middle East as well as becoming a centre for investment, promotion and conception of new ideas for partnership,” said Mr Michel following the opening.

The event was attended by the Seychelles Minister for Foreign Affairs Jean-Paul Adam, the UAE Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Affairs Khaled Ghanem Al Ghaith, Seychelles’ ambassador to the UAE Dick Esparon, the chief executive of the Seychelles Tourism Board Alain St Ange, and members of the resident diplomatic corps, and of the Seychellois community in the UAE, representatives from travel operators and tourism trade establishments and airlines.

Mr Michel and the guests toured the new embassy and tourism office, and also enjoyed the songs of the legendary Seychellois singers Patrick Victor, Jean-Marc Volcy and Emmanuel Marie who performed during the opening, evoking traditional Creole ballads, moutia and sega beats as well as “romances”.

“The tourism office will be an important component of the Seychelles marketing strategy for the Gulf and Middle East, as this market has vast growth potential and is part of our diversification policy, as markets in Europe are faced with economic crisis. Seychelles will benefit from the strong spending power of visitors from the Gulf, and this will further strengthen our tourism industry, ensuring the stability of our economy,” he said.

Messrs Adam, Esparon, and St Ange addressed the guests.
Mr Esparon presented credentials to the President of the United Arab Emirates His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Monday September 19, 2011 becoming Seychelles first ambassador to the UAE.

Diplomatic ties between Seychelles and the UAE were established on December 18, 1982.

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