The advisor to the Director of International Monetary Fund (IMF) African Department and Mission Chief for Seychelles, Mr Amadou Sy, paid a courtesy visit to President Danny Faure at State House today. He was accompanied by Senior Economist Director at IMF, Mr Tetsuya Konuki.

President Faure welcomed Mr Sy once again to Seychelles and thanked the delegation for their visit, and for meeting all the concerned stakeholders.  The visit was conducted as part of the second review of the current IMF programme; with reviews taking place at six-monthly intervals.    During their mission in Seychelles they assessed the economic development of the country and discussed policy recommendations with the authorities.

The President expressed his gratitude for the advice and support given by the IMF and confirmed  Government’s continued commitment to the programme and meeting its targets of fiscal sustainability and macroeconomic stability.

During the meeting, Mr Sy shared with President Faure some of the IMF's findings and recommendations after looking at Seychelles' macroeconomic progress, trends, developments, and policies.  They discussed the economic outlook for the country which remains positive, but with a note of caution given international geopolitical developments and the rising costs of fuel.

As Seychelles’ economic diversification and resilience remain crucial for the country against this international backdrop, both sides agreed on the role and importance of infrastructural investment to help attain that end.  Despite their importance, the President reiterated that the major projects announced in his State of the Nation address in March 2018 will be done at minimal cost to the public budget.  Through the use of alternative sources of financing such as public private partnerships and grants, the President said that the projects will be carried out without jeopardising the country’s debt targets.

The IMF's Official Mission lasted two weeks and involved meetings with the Ministry of Finance, Central Bank of Seychelles, and various stakeholders including the members of the National Assembly, parastatals, and bank representatives.

Speaking to the press after the meeting, Mr Sy said, ‘The programme which Seychelles has with IMF is on track. Under the programme we have some targets in term of the budget, the primary surplus, and to reduce the debt to GDP ratio of Seychelles to 50% by 2021. This is all on track. We also have what we called reform targets where we make recommendations. For example, strengthen the state owned enterprises management, address anti-money laundering, and combat financial terrorism issues. We are pleased to note that the authority has embarked on this reform process.’

Present for the courtesy call at State House was the Minister for Finance, Trade, Investment and Economic Planning, Mr Maurice Loustau-Lalanne; the Governor of the Central Bank, Miss Caroline Abel; Secretary of State for Finance, Mr Patrick Payet; the Economic Advisor in the Office of the President, Mr Bertrand Belle; the Principal Secretary for Economic Planning, Mrs Elizabeth Agathine; and the Principal Secretary of Finance, Mr Damien Thesée.