Seychelles and the European Union (EU) yesterday afternoon signed a financial contract which both partners have described as a significant progress of their partnership.

The agreement was signed on the Seychelles side by the principal secretary for foreign affairs, Ambassador Maurice Loustau-Lalanne, while the EU was represented by its head of delegation in Mauritius, Ambassador Aldo Dell’Ariccia. British high commissioner Lindsay Skoll and French ambassador Lionel Majesté Larrouy were also present.

The signing of the contract launches the implementation of a programme which aims at strengthening immediate capacity needs for the implementation of the Interim Economic Partnership Agreement (iEPA) between the two sides.

Referring to this agreement, the Seychelles party has reiterated its firm commitment to achieving agreed common goals on trade liberalisation, in line with the recent accession of the country to the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

The programme represents an envelope of 760 000 euros or R11 million intended to provide public as well as private sectors with specific measures to respond to the country’s needs in its trade liberalisation process.

It aims at supporting a progressive opening up of markets between trading partners which will no longer be based on preferential trade regimes, but rather on free market access, product and price competitiveness, and adherence to set norms and standards.

Financed under the 19^th European Development Fund Regional Integration Support Programme (RISP), the activities to be implemented through this programme aim at assisting both government and private sector organisations in meeting the requirements of a liberalised market.

The foreseen activities are wide-ranging, covering the entire product chain from identification of new niche export products in which the country has a comparative advantage, to the accreditation of institutions such as the Seychelles Bureau of Standards (SBS) and the Seychelles Revenue Commission (SRC).

Local capacities in sanitary and phytosanitary standards will also be enforced through the procurement of necessary equipment for the SRC, the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Fisheries and Agriculture.

The financial contract follows a high level Political Dialogue between the two sides which took place at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday morning. The Political Dialogue is part of the Cotonou Agreement signed between the ACP (African Caribbean and Pacific) Group and the EU as a means of boosting sustainable development for those countries. It is considered as one of the main tools for effective Seychelles-EU cooperation.

Yesterday’s dialogue included discussions around topics like, governance, rule of law and human rights, fisheries agreements with the EU, socio-economic reforms, the political situation in the country and upcoming elections. On this last issue, the government of Seychelles has expressed its firm commitment to making every effort to ensure that the elections are credible, free, and transparent, based on an appropriate and consensual legal framework, so as to increase the trust and participation of citizens.

On the protection and promotion of human rights, Seychelles has been encouraged to develop, all possible legal and societal action to achieve the best international standards in this field.

The two parties also addressed the issue of the international organised crime including illegal, unreported and unregulated fisheries and the negative impact that this has on the region.

They also discussed the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement between them and stressed the importance of ensuring the legal origin of catches and their sanitary and phytosanitary quality.

Both Seychelles and the EU have expressed their satisfaction on the fact that the action against piracy is an example of highly successful structured international cooperation, allowing creating new capacities and tools in the region and particularly in Seychelles.

It is to be remembered that the EU provides military as well as civilian assistance to help protect the country’s EEZ and address the scourge of piracy in the region. Seychelles’ effort to counter piracy has also been highly appreciated and its commitment has been recognised as it has been given the chairmanship of the international Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia.

It is also in agreement with Seychelles on the need to respect mutual obligations in relation to the impact of the Marine Spatial Planning initiative on fisheries within Seychelles EEZ. They are both of the opinion that this initiative is an important step to consolidate the country's capacities to deal with the critical issue of climate adaptation, while alleviating the burden of the external debt through the debt for nature swap agreed with the Paris Club creditors. In reference to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, both sides agreed on the importance that all participants of the XXI Conference of the Parties to be held in December 2O15 in Paris (COP21) commit themselves to achieving the objectives for a better global future.

Other than the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Transport Joel Morgan who led the country’s delegation, Seychelles was represented by senior officials from the Ministry of Finance, Trade and the Blue Economy, the Ministry of Environment, Energy and Climate Change and the Ministry of Fisheries and Agriculture.

Through their representatives, the Republic of Seychelles and the EU have welcomed what they have called an important dialogue as a step further in the deepening of their relationship which they add are characterised by the quality and frankness of the discussions.

“This agreement paves the way for greater success in our partnership with the European Union. I measure this success by the dialogue we have had this morning and by what our cooperation has permitted us to do together until now. This document gives us the possibility, through the financial support of the European Union, to enhance our national competencies in various aspects, especially human and technical capacity in order to meet the requirements of the IEPA, and for this agreement to become a success. It is something very important for Seychelles because it gives the country the possibility to move on in its development. It will stimulate more the local economy especially through exchanges in the business sector, presenting the opportunity to meet our vision of people-centered economic development,” commented Joel Morgan, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Transport.

Both Seychelles and the EU view the Political Dialogue as another indicator of excellent bilateral relations. They have agreed to convene the next session in June 2016.

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