The South African High Commissioner to the Seychelles, H.E. Dr. Nomvuyo N. Nokwe, paid a farewell call on President Danny Faure at State House this afternoon, following more than four years of tenure.

President Faure thanked High Commissioner Nokwe for her hard work, and expressed the gratitude of the government of Seychelles. Furthermore, the President commended her for all the excellent cooperation that she has promoted between Seychelles and South Africa.

“On behalf of the Government, I would like to thank you for the more than four years that you have served your country and Seychelles. You have done your level best and during the time that you have been High Commissioner, we have seen the deepening of our bilateral cooperation. The scope of our cooperation has widened and have also cemented the diplomatic ties that we have between our two countries. I would like to put on record Seychelles’ government appreciation for the work that you have done,” said the President.

During the meeting, President Faure and the High Commissioner reviewed the progress made in the various aspects of bilateral areas between South Africa and Seychelles. They also spoke on the prospects of cooperation in areas of mutual interests in the future, such as in trade and commerce and exchange of programmes. As a matter of priority, they further discussed the matter of post-graduate training for the Seychellois medical practitioners.

Speaking to the local press after the meeting, High Commissioner Nokwe said that she is truly honoured and privileged to have been able to serve her country and Seychelles.  She said that she has been able to forge new bilateral relations between the two countries which was enhanced by different activities. Nevertheless, she reaffirmed that both countries will continue to forge new ties here and in the international arena such as the African Union and the Southern African Development Community.

“We had what we call the senior officials meeting where undertakings were done. Some of the agreements has come to fruition; that is the Air Services Agreement. We’ve also had an MoU between your Tourism Department and the South Africans’ tourism. Certainly for me the best achievement is having an Honorary Consul in your country, meaning that whenever there are issues they are dealt with by the Honorary Consul based in Seychelles which has also eased our work. You also have medical students who wants to continue their education, we promise all these are insuring and when my successor comes, those issues will be tackled,” said High Commissioner Nokwe.

Also present in the meeting were the Secretary of State in the Department of Foreign Affairs Ambassador Barry Faure, the Honorary Consul for South Africa in Seychelles Mr. Rod Thorrington and Mr. Celanie Tembe Consul Attaché based in South Africa.

Mrs. Nokwe presented her credentials in June 2012, and was based in Mauritius.