EU Seychelles First Partnership Dialogue, 17 October 2024 Victoria, Seychelles

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EU-Seychelles First Partnership Dialogue, 17 October 2024 - Victoria, Seychelles

21.10.2024 Press and information team of the Delegation to Mauritius and Seychelles

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© Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Tourism, Republic of Seychelles

Honourable Minister of Foreign Affairs and Tourism, Mr Sylvestre Radegonde

Honourable Minister for Fisheries and the Blue Economy, Mr. Jean-Francois Ferrari

Honourable Minister of Finance, Mr Naadir Hassan

Honourable Minister for Internal Affairs, Mr. Errol Fonseka

Honourable Minister of Transport, Mr. Anthony Derjacques

Honourable Minister of Investment, Entrepreneurship and Industry, Mrs. Devika Vidot

Honourable Minister of Agriculture, Climate Change & Environment, Mr. Flavien Joubert

Honourable Minister of Employment and Social Affairs, Mrs. Patricia Francourt

Dear Colleagues Ambassadors and representatives from the EU Member States

Dear representatives from EUNAVFOR Operation Atalanta

Dear representative from the European Investment Bank

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am honoured to co-chair for the second year a strategic dialogue with the government of Seychelles. It is the first Partnership Dialogue under the new Samoa Agreement and thus, a new milestone.

Word of thanks

Allow me Honourable Co-Chair to thank all the members of your team who have been working so hard to organise our gathering today. I wish to convey my sincere gratitude to all of you.

I would like to acknowledge the presence with me today of ambassadors and representatives from nine EU member states, namely Czech Republic, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Finland and Sweden who travelled from the African continent as well as the Ambassador of France who is resident.

We also have with us 3 representatives from EUNAVFOR Operation Atalanta and two representatives from the European Investment Bank. This is a real and complete Team Europe that you have in front of you.

Objectives of the dialogue

Despite the change in the title: we now call this dialogue a partnership dialogue instead of the Article 8 political dialogue prescribed by the Cotonou Agreement, I firmly believe that the core principles underlying our dialogue remain the same:

• Trust
• Openness
• Cooperation
• Friendship

Our partnership dialogue is an important moment to re-affirm our commitment to continue working with the Republic of Seychelles in a spirit of fruitful and concrete results.

We have a number of messages that we wish to convey but we are also here to listen, to exchange and to find together the ways and means to progress. Finding common ground and being as concrete as possible, when looking forward.

This is the true meaning of a dialogue.

We have a lot in common; we share fundamental values, such as democracy, the rule of law, freedom and the primacy of international law.

Allow me to commend Seychelles for the fact that - you are a model for democratic governance. Seychelles is also recognised for its steady commitment against corruption - and is ex-aequo with my country - Austria on the Transparency International Corruption Perception Index, according to which, it is the least corrupt country in Africa.

Looking at Seychelles history since independence, I am impressed by your path to reconciliation and truth and by your commitment to the rule of law, transparency and the welfare of the people of Seychelles. We can consider you a role model for many African countries and that is also why we will steadfastly support you also in the future.

Global situation

In Europe, as you well know, following the European Elections, we have a proposal for a new Commission as well as the guidelines for the period 2024-2029.

In these guidelines, special focus is put on competitiveness, economic security, respect for our values, but also, security and defence.

If anything, the last few years have been a sharp reminder about how fragile peace is, they have also been a wakeup call for Europe to give itself the means to defend and protect itself and deter potential adversaries.

Our Dialogue takes place at a time when Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine continues. The EU stands in solidarity with Ukraine and its people, and will continue to strive for a fair peace deal standing-by the essential principles of the UN Charter and international law.

The EU would like also to express appreciation for the Seychelles' support to the UNGA resolutions in favour of Ukraine. We stood together in defending the rules based international system. We need to continue working for the benefit of international peace and security, protecting all states, large and small, standing by Ukraine and supporting its democratic institutions and representatives.

The Summit on Peace in Ukraine hosted by Switzerland last June was a success, and confirmed broad support for a just and lasting peace in Ukraine, based on the UN Charter and international law.

Russia must now demonstrate it is ready to engage, based on the UN Charter and starting from the three practical issues identified at the Summit: food security, nuclear safety and security and returns of prisoners of war and children.

A second summit is a valuable long-term objective. Right timing is essential. We are interested in hearing your views and encourage your engagement in that process.

We face the same global challenges and this calls for solidarity and cooperation among like-minded partners. The recent UN Summit for the Future produced an important deliverable: The Pact for the Future, which along with its annexes is a major achievement towards a more fair, equitable and inclusive multilateral system. I would like to thank you for the Seychelles' contribution to the process and the engagement of the Honourable President of Seychelles M. Ramkalawan. This is a Pact for all.

At the same time, the theme for the general debate of the 79^th session of the UN General Assembly was "Leaving no one behind."

While this was a commendable theme, I would also like to add leaving no one below. Sea level rise is a real concern for island states like Seychelles and I am glad that this issue was discussed at the highest level at the UN a few weeks ago.

Climate action

This brings me to the crucial issue of the fight against man-made climate change.

At EU level, we have embarked on an ambitious trajectory to become the first climate neutral continent by 2050.

This is not just words; this is a binding commitment under the EU Climate Law, for which we are already implementing important measures.

But, we also embrace our global role in combatting climate change worldwide. The EU, with its Member States, remains the biggest international provider of climate action finance. In 2022, the EU and its Member States contributed €28.5 billion from public sources and mobilised an additional amount of €11.9 billion of private finance in supporting developing countries reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to the impacts of the climate change.

As we prepare for COP 29 in Baku, rest assured that the EU will remain strongly committed to climate action and will strive to achieve successful and ambitious outcomes to secure a sustainable future for all.

Small islands like Seychelles bear the brunt of climate change despite their marginal contribution to the phenomenon. This is not fair!

The EU stood alongside SIDS at COP28 to achieve international consensus to transition away from fossil fuels. We supported SIDS in their call for a Loss and Damage Fund to cope with the growing costs of climate change.

The EU and its Member States - together as Team Europe - pledged over half the initial funding.

Access to predictable and significant source of funding is necessary for you to address climate change as well as to respond to natural disasters such as floods, landslides and erosion.

This is why the EU and its Members States have been closely following the recent discussions at the UN for the resolution to adopt the Multidimensional Vulnerability Index. We are particularly pleased by the Adoption of the Resolution by the UN in August.

Climate change is also our primary focus under the EU bilateral programme ENSEL, which I had the opportunity to sign with the Minister for Foreign Affairs in May this year.

I am also glad that through our partnership with the Indian Ocean Commission and the UN organisations we were able to provide rapid assistance following the flood that occurred in December last year.

While we face climate change, we should also look at biodiversity loss, pollution and the sustainable management of natural resources. Especially in view of the imminent COP 16 on Biological Diversity in Cali.

Here, let me commend Seychelles for its leadership in ocean protection, a leadership that is recognised at international level.

This is an area where we have an important agenda in particular in the context of the BBNJ Agreement (Agreement on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction)that we both subscribe to. We commend Seychelles for being among the first countries to sign the BBNJ Agreement together with the EU. Seychelles is the first country in Africa to ratify the BBNJ Treaty!

Seychelles has an essential role to play in sharing its experience with the international community. It has also areas of exceptional beauty, such as Aldabra, and are worth of being protected!

The EU is also committed to ocean protection and more globally to ocean governance as demonstrated by the €3.5 billion worth of pledges made (both at EU and at Member States' level) at the latest Our Ocean conference in Greece in which Seychelles also participated. This amount corresponds to 40 commitments taken by the EU cover sustainable fisheries, marine protected areas, ocean and climate change, sustainable blue economies, marine pollution, maritime security, and beyond.

Fisheries

Dear Minister,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We have a dynamic and trusted partnership in the area of sustainable fisheries.

We have been working with Seychelles Fisheries Authority, which celebrates its 40 years - for decades as part of our successive Fisheries Partnership Agreement.

This partnership has delivered concrete results for local fishers and communities including the successful commissioning of key fisheries facilities on Mahé, Praslin and La Digue.

In fact, the relationship we have built with Seychelles, the good performance of the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreements and the sectoral support can be considered a model for others.

Trade

While we have shared interests in climate change, biodiversity and ocean governance, we also have in the areas of trade and investment, governance as well as maritime security.

We have worked together in these sectors for decades and we have achieved a lot under our current cooperation. We have a solid trade relation and I am proud to say that the EU remains Seychelles main trade partner.

We are in the process of modernising our free trade agreement, the so-called Economic Partnership Agreement and I wish to thank Seychelles for its active participation in the negotiation process that we look forward to completing in the coming months.

We are also providing additional funding for the modernisation of the port infrastructure and I am glad that the EIB is present today. I am looking forward to start rapidly with the implementation of this strategic project for Seychelles' economic development.

Taxation/AML

In the field of financial governance, we commend the steadfast commitment of Seychelles to ensure that it is a reliable jurisdiction in the area of taxation.

We are working closely with the OECD to be ready to provide you with the necessary support in view of reforms that need to be implemented for the supplementary review scheduled in 2025.

Maritime Security

We also wish to congratulate Seychelles on taking up the Chairmanship of the Contact Group against Illegal Maritime Crimes (CGIMA).

The EU remains devoted to promoting maritime security in the region. We have signed a new regional programme (Safe Seas Africa) as a successor to MASE to continue to support the regional maritime architecture and the operations of the Regional Coordination Operations Centre.

Conclusion

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I have touched upon many areas today.

We will have the opportunity to discuss all these from a bilateral as well as a regional perspective with you Minister Radegonde, in your double role as President of the Indian Ocean Commission.

We are happy to support you in implementing your priorities as Chair of the IOC.

The recent accreditation of the Indian Ocean Commission to the Green Climate Fund is good news, as it will allow the IOC to request funding for climate action for its member states and therefore upscale the fight against climate change.

As new challenges arise - health crises, natural disasters, conflicts - against the backdrop of rising temperatures, we are ready to invest in building a better future for Seychelles, for the region, for the EU.

Among the objectives of the new European Commission for Africa, will be a new impetus in our mutual partnership ahead of the next EU-African Union Summit in 2025. Our Partnership Dialogue will certainly be useful as we prepare for this Summit.

Honourable co-chair, let me remind all that EU remains the main trade partner, the main provider of tourists (50% of arrivals) and the main partner for fisheries.

Thank you for your hospitality and your friendship.

I look forward to our discussions.

Thank you for your kind attention.