Seychelles' ambassadors start review of foreign policy after meeting with President

The meeting took place on Monday ahead of the biennial Honorary Consuls Conference. (Seychelles Nation)

Seychellois ambassadors in overseas mission discussed on Monday the review of the current foreign policy document when they met together with Seychelles' President Wavel Ramkalawan for the first time since his election.

The meeting took place ahead of the biennial Honorary Consuls Conference scheduled to start on Wednesday.

Head Ambassador of Seychelles, Claude Morel, told reporters that all the nine ambassadors representing Seychelles in overseas missions have agreed to brainstorm and review the document together.

"This document is used as an instrument in our relations with states, becoming the charter for the next two or three years. We are expecting that by the end of November we should be in the position to have the document that will be used for us to discharge our responsibility," said Morel.

He also outlined that the meeting with the president provided the ambassadors with the opportunity to discuss diplomatic strategies.

"We all have our own responsibilities. An ambassador based in South Africa will not have the same responsibility as one based at the United Nations. We need to however see how we can work together in unity as a group for the benefit of Seychelles. The one-hour long exchange allowed us to have this vision and how he sees the future of Seychelles within the framework of our diplomacy," said Morel.

The ambassadors of Seychelles are meeting in a retreat from October 24-25.  This will be followed by the biennial Honorary Consuls Conference organised by the Foreign Affairs Department. The event that will run from October 26-28 will be officially launched on Tuesday evening by the President at State House.

The first meeting to be held physically since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, this year's Honorary Consuls Conference will take place under the theme 'Harnessing Opportunities through Diplomatic Relations. 

The conference will discuss how to explore opportunities to bring additional benefits in various areas of national importance to Seychelles. These discussions will include presentations from various sectors, such as Blue Economy, Tourism, and Aquaculture development, among others.

"One of the new things that have happened is that we allowed honorary consuls to visit districts across Mahe. The objective is to allow them to know the reality in each district so that they understand the needs of the districts. From there they can create a network, allowing them to bring benefits to the district level, bringing diplomatic work to the people directly," said Morel.