Five years ago, in the midst of the global financial crisis, rising commodity prices and a volatile global environment, the Seychelles Government came to the realization that as a small and vulnerable economy, it had to undertake robust and fundamental reforms to overcome serious imbalances that prevailed at the time, and through those reforms begin building resilience and put the country back on a path toward sustainable growth and development.
On October 31st 2008, President James Alix Michel announced on national television the introduction of the Seychelles macroeconomic reform programme, and outlined its implications and challenges.
Following the endorsement of the programme by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on 14th November 2008, the Republic of Seychelles has pressed on with the implementation of wide-ranging reforms primarily aimed at restoring macroeconomic stability, eliminating structural imbalances, and rejuvenating the country’s economy.
The Seychelles rupee was floated, and a heavily front-loaded programme, that included a reduction of the public workforce, fiscal, structural and legal reforms, was implemented with the backing of a two-year IMF Stand-by Arrangement. Following the reforms full macro-stabilisation has been achieved, as reflected through falling interest rates, curbing of inflation, and a considerable appreciation of the exchange rates, underpinned by strong fiscal and monetary policies.
Five years later, Seychelles has successfully restructured its external debt and as a result, the country's total public debt is well on course to fall to 50% of GDP by 2018.
In this vein, the Government of Seychelles in collaboration with the IMF has organized the “Seychelles Conference” under the theme “From Stabilization to Sustained Growth: Five Years of Successful Reforms and the Challenges Ahead” on 31st October 2013, at Le Meridien Barbarons Hotel, Seychelles.
The conference coincides with the fifth anniversary of President James Michel’s announcement of Seychelles' new economic direction that would be underpinned by the macro-economic reform programme. It provides a forum for participants to take stock of the reforms, its successes, challenges encountered, and lessons from the reforms. Participants will also discuss the key priorities and further challenges going forward, how best to address remaining economic vulnerabilities, and solidify the foundations for sustained and inclusive growth.
The Seychelles experience has shown that any country, as small as it may be, can overcome the most adverse of challenges if it has the courage and political will to overcome those challenges.
Participants in the Conference include representatives of development partners, private sector and civil society.
» LATEST: Keynote address by President James Michel 31.10.2013
» President Michel's Oct 2008 Speech
» Seychelles general statistics
» IMF reports on Seychelles
» Central Bank of Seychelles statistics
» National Accounts 2004-2012
» Schedule of Events
» Addressing Macro-Fiscal Risks from State-Owned Enterprises in Seychelles
» Enhancing the Effectiveness of Monetary Policy and Promoting Financial Deepening
» Seychelles Reforms: The International Context
» Sources of inclusive growth
» Fiscal Policy Priorities in Seychelles: From Solvency to Resilience
» The Parastatal Reform Then and Now
» Inclusive Growth: A View from the Fund
» A Successful Case of Reforms in a Small Island Economy
» Enhancing the effectiveness of monetary policy and promoting financial deepening
» Assessing the Seychelles’ reform program and IMF engagement