The President of the Republic, Mr. Wavel Ramkalawan received Director General at the European Commission, Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Mrs. Charlina Vitcheva, at State House yesterday morning. Mrs. Vitcheva and her delegation are on an official visit to Seychelles and also participating in the BlueInvest Africa event which is expected to bring together for the first time entrepreneurs and investors around projects with the potential to boost the African blue economy.

President Wavel Ramkalawan began by welcoming Mrs. Vitcheva and her delegation to Seychelles and thanked the European Union for choosing Seychelles to host this event. The President further thanked them for the strong partnership that exists between Seychelles and the European Union and reaffirmed his commitment to further strengthening the EU-Seychelles partnership. He hoped that the BlueInvest Africa will pave way for new opportunities for investment and that entrepreneurs and investors will take full advantage of the event.

On her part, Mrs. Vitcheva expressed her gratitude to the Government of Seychelles for hosting the event and to everyone who took part in organizing it. She reaffirmed the willingness of the European Union to continue supporting Seychelles in achieving its development priorities and underlined that Seychelles is a strategic and like-minded partner for the EU.

During the meeting, Mrs. Vitcheva briefed the President on the various meetings held with high officials in different Ministries, where it was an opportunity for the delegation to exchange on the strategic partnership between Seychelles and the EU. The Head of State and Mrs. Vitcheva also touched on critical areas of cooperation including the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement and other strategic partnerships in the region, which include maritime security.

She also took the opportunity to congratulate the Seychelles for the upgrade in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme and for being one of the countries with concrete commitment about the Paris Agreement.

Mrs. Vitcheva was accompanied at State House by the EU Ambassador to the Republic of Seychelles, H.E. Mr. Vincent Degert, Assistant of DG MARE, Mr. Stijn Billiet, and Press and Communication Officer, Ms. Corinne Paya.

Also present were the Designated Minister and Minister for Fisheries, Mr. Jean-François Ferrari, Principal Secretary, Blue Economy, Mr. Kenneth Racombo, and other officials from the Blue Economy Department.