President James Michel met with the Director General of the Food and Agriculture Organisaton (FAO) of the United Nations, Mr. José Graziano Da Silva, at State House this morning. Mr. Da Silva is on an official to Seychelles, as part of a tour of several islands in the Indian Ocean.

They discussed the challenges faced by farmers in Seychelles due to climate change and the way the FAO can support SIDS in terms of resilience and capacity-building.

The Blue Economy and its various sectors, including the marine spatial plan as well as mariculture development were also topics of discussion.

Furthermore, they spoke about the need to improve efficiency in farming in Seychelles as well as boosting productivity.

“The FAO is a strategic and major partner for Seychelles.  We value your support.  We look forward to our growing partnership.  We thank you for your commitment to intensifying your support to our country, particularly in the agricultural, fisheries, the Blue Economy and environmental sectors, thereby contributing to meeting our country’s vision and developments goals as well as resilience in our food security endeavours,” said President Michel.

President Michel presented Director General José Graziano Da Silva with a copy of his book “Re-thinking the Oceans - Towards the Blue Economy.” Mr. Da Silva had written the foreword for the book, which was launched in June this year.

The FAO Director General commended Seychelles on its continued economic growth and positive economic outlook reported by international agencies.

“Seychelles is taking the lead worldwide on the Blue Economy, putting the oceans at the centre of the agenda of sustainable development. The objectives for sustainable development cannot be achieved if we don’t change the way we treat the oceans,” said Mr. Da Silva in an interview with the local press following the meeting.

Also present in the meeting were the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Transport, Mr. Joel Morgan, the Minister for Fisheries and Agriculture, Mr. Wallace Cosgrow, the President’s Diplomatic Adviser, Ambassador Callixte d’Offay, the Principal Secretary for Fisheries and Agriculture, Mr. Michel Nalletamby, the FAO National  Correspondent, Mr. Antoine-Marie Moustache, as well as the FAO representative for Mautitius, Madagascar, Comoros and the Seychelles Mr. Patrice Talla Takoukam, and the UN Coordination Focal Point for Seychelles, Mr. Michael Charlette.