Seychelles news update – President Michel starts state visit to Australia

SEYCHELLES STATE VISIT TO AUSTRALIA GOES UNDERWAY

The Seychelles Minister for Foreign Affairs, Jean Paul Adam, and the CEO of the Seychelles Tourism Board, Alain St.Ange, jointly chaired a Press Conference in Melbourne on Sunday, August 21,  hours after their landing in Australia.

Minister Adam and his delegation are part of the Official State Visit in Australia by the President of the Republic of Seychelles, Mr James Michel. This will be the first State Visit by a Seychelles President in Australia, which results from an invitation made by the Govenor General of Australia.

President Michel is expected to land in Melbourne on today, on a visit that will also take him and his delegation to Canberra, Townsville and Brisbane. The Seychelles President’s delegation is made up of the Seychelles Minister of Foreign Affairs,  Jean Paul Adam, the CEO of the Seychelles Tourism Board, Alain St.Ange, the Vice Chancellor of the Seychelles University, Dr Rolph Payet and the Seychelles High Commissioner accredited to Australia, Dick Esparon. The Seychelles Delegation will be officially welcomed to Australia when they land in Canberra, and this will be done by the Governor General and by the Prime Minister.
Minister Adam addressed the Press gathered on the issue of climate change, sustainable development and coorperation between Australia and Seychelles; whereas, Alain St.Ange, the CEO of the Seychelles Tourism Board spoke about the avaliable option for Australians to visit the Seychelles after an African Safari, or a Shopping Break in Singapore, Dubai, Abu Dhabi or Doha among many other twin center options, which includes the Volcano of La Reunion Island.

“Seychelles is the ideal extension after an African Safari. This is why we coined a year ago the slogan – From the Big Five, to the Best Five – which re-affirms that after photographing the big five of Africa, a beach holiday in Seychelles is the ideal extension as these islands stand just two and a half hours flight from the African mainland,” Mr Alain St.Ange said.

The Seychellois delegation also spoke about business opportunities that exist in Seychelles, the diversity of the Seychellois people and their islands among other unique selling points of these mid-ocean Creole islands.

“We have the best incentives for any investor, and this is safety and the assurance that the business community can repatriate their profits as and when they want because Seychelles has no exchange control at all,” said Mr St.Ange.

Seychelles is also appealing for Australia to showcase its own culture and its people at their island’s unique carnival of carnivals that takes place every March in Victoria, the capital of the Seychelles. The unique Aboriginal Culture and the Aboriginal people, the other cultures of Australia, inclusive of the rich Australian Country & Western Music were raised as options that could be considered to parade alongside the cultural groups from the rest of the world and with delegations of the known and the best carnivals of the world.