President Danny Faure visited the National Institute of Science Technology and Innovation (NISTI) and the Blue Economy Department this morning. He visited the NISTI Headquarters at Bel Ombre, where he was welcomed by the Chairperson of NISTI Board, Dr Conrad Shamlaye, and the Chief Executive Officer, Mr Xavier Estico.
The President received a guided tour of the building where he was briefed of the various expansion and renovation plans proposed by the Institute to further develop their Headquarters into a well-equipped innovation hub. During the tour, the President also met staff members and had the chance to hear their views. Following the tour, a meeting was held with the Senior Management team for more detailed discussions on areas of focus and challenges encountered by the Institute.
The President was also briefed on ongoing efforts to encourage greater Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) based activities in schools and educational programmes to entice young people to pursue careers in STEM. President Faure thanked the NISTI team for their proactive engagement and work in spearheading the use of technology to build innovative solutions and urged them to work closely with key partners and stakeholders to ensure the continued integration of technology in key sectors.
The President then visited the Blue Economy Department located at the Oliaji Trade Centre in Victoria. Upon arrival he received a guided tour of the offices by the Principal Secretary of the Blue Economy Department, Mr Kenneth Racombo.
After the tour, the members of the Senior Management met with the President and presented him with an overview of the daily operations of the Department, roles and responsibilities of the staff, and discussed the key challenges being encountered. The meeting was also an opportunity for them to share with the President the various outreach efforts being implemented in partnership with stakeholders, and plans to focus on raising greater awareness in the country on the concept of the Blue Economy.
President Faure commended the team for the work so far, and said that despite being a fairly new department, they are playing a pivotal role as the primary coordinating mechanism for the country’s sustainable blue economy strategy. He also stressed on the importance of the Department adopting a proper networking and collaborative work approach, focused on implementing well-coordinated communications with the support of relevant partners for the further development and implementation of the Seychelles’ blue economy on a national, regional and international scale.