President James Michel met with the Governor-General of New Zealand, Lt Gen Rt Hon Sir Jerry Mateparae at the Government House, in Auckland today, during his official visit to New Zealand.
President Michel expressed his satisfaction with visiting New Zealand for the first time and said that relations between the two island countries are excellent.
The President and the Governor-General spoke about the upcoming UN conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in Apia, Samoa, and in particular the importance of the Blue Economy towards the sustainable development of small island states.
“There are a great number of shared opportunities as well as shared responsibilities in the Blue Economy….We need to work together to identify ways in which we can positively exploit our marine resources, to increase ownership of our seas. New Zealand is an inspiring maritime nation which has set positive examples for sustainable practices in its fisheries sector. The Indian and Pacific Ocean have many experiences which they can share with each other in order to further consolidate their process of regional integration,” said President Michel.
The President added that Seychelles and New Zealand are two countries which share a common vision for the protection of the environment, with both countries declaring large parts of their land territory as protected under the law. Seychelles has 52 percent of its land territory protected under law and New Zealand, has 30 percent of its territory protected as nature reserves.
While acknowledging the Seychelles’ exemplary conservation track record, Sir Jerry Mateparae commended Seychelles in its leadership role among the Indian Ocean islands in the fight against piracy, climate change as well as its progress in undertaking economic and governance reforms. He noted New Zealand’s willingness to partner with Seychelles on a number of bilateral cooperation projects which would be mutually beneficial to the two countries.
The President and the Governor-General also discussed regional security issues, and the need for sustained maritime surveillance and information-sharing in order to combat transnational crime. Mr Michel welcomed the expected deployment of a P-3K2 Orion airborne surveillance and response aircraft from New Zealand to Seychelles next month. The air surveillance team will remain in the region for a four month period, as part of the Combined Maritime Forces to assist in international efforts to address and reduce maritime piracy in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean.
Renewable energy and New Zealand’s expertise in this area were also discussed, especially the need for capacity building in Seychelles, to ensure that the renewable energy sector expands in the small island state, which is currently heavily dependent on diesel-powered electricity generation.
President Michel thanked the New Zealand government for its continued cooperation in the field of education, an area which many Seychellois students have benefitted from. New Zealand provides a series of scholarships to Seychelles every year, which have been keenly taken up by students, especially in the fields of medicine, dentistry and sciences.
The President was accompanied by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Jean-Paul Adam, the Secretary General in the Office of the President, Lise Bastienne, and the Chief Press Secretary, Srdjana Janosevic. Also in attendance was the Special Adviser, Middle East and Africa at New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade, Brian Sanders.