President Danny Faure met with the World Bank Vice President for Sustainable Development, Ms Laura Tuck, at State House this afternoon. Ms Tuck and her delegation are in Seychelles to participate in the conference on Financing Sustainable and Climate-Resilient Ocean Economies in Africa currently taking place at the Savoy Hotel.

The President welcomed Ms Tuck to Seychelles and thanked her for honouring her commitment to visit Seychelles and co-host the conference. He said that the conference is a testimony of the type of partnership that Seychelles has with the World Bank.

“The work that the World Bank has done and continues to do in Seychelles, especially the analytical work, has helped us to better appreciate what we are doing now in tourism and what needs to be done. It also helps us share the prosperity and re-distribute the wealth across sectors and create more jobs in areas such as agriculture, fisheries, culture, and artisanal work. The World Bank has been playing a significant role in helping Seychelles to achieve its goals,” said the President during the meeting.

The discussions between President Faure and Ms Tuck centred on different sectors of great importance for Seychelles and the World Bank in order to allow economic growth and improve livelihoods in the country. This includes the plans for the development of the Blue Economy, bringing in private investment to complement the regulatory approaches that the government is putting into place, and other areas where the World Bank can provide support in the future.

Speaking to the national press after the meeting, Ms Tuck said that she is very pleased with the leadership that Seychelles has taken in building the Blue Economy.

“Seychelles has done a lot, they are a real leader in this, and it has been showcased at the conference. I think this partnership between the World Bank and Seychelles is extremely productive. I am very pleased with the progress that they are making. We have a new partnership framework that we will be bringing to our Board soon,” said Ms Tuck.

The meeting was also attended by the Minister for Finance, Trade and Economic Planning, Dr Peter Larose, the Economic Advisor to the President, Mr Bertrand Belle, Principal Secretary for Finance, Mr Patrick Payet, Principal Secretary for Economic Planning, Mrs Elizabeth Agathine, Country Director for Seychelles at the World Bank, Mr Mark Lundell, and Senior Director, Environment and Natural Resources, Ms Karine Kamper.