Switzerland and Seychelles to work together on climate change and drug addiction

The Ambassador of Switzerland to Seychelles, Rolf Stalder, and Seychelles' President Wavel Ramkalawan (Seychelles Nation)

(Seychelles News Agency) - Switzerland is proposing to share its experience in drug addiction programmes with Seychelles while also looking for ways to work on the effects of climate change, the Swiss ambassador said on Tuesday.

The new Ambassador of Switzerland to Seychelles, Rolf Stalder, made the statement after presenting his credentials to President Wavel Ramkalawan at State House.

Among other topics discussed were further collaborations in the field of education – whereby Seychellois professionals may go to Switzerland for further training or on-the-job training.

Seychelles and Switzerland established diplomatic relations in 1981 and the two countries continue to cooperate in areas such as tourism and education.

While the two countries have excellent relations, Stalder said “there is always something to improve,” adding “that since we both have an important tourism sector, I think there can be some cooperation to improve and exchange”.

Stalder also explained that they discussed climate change and “how we can cooperate as smaller countries in the international systems to really fight against climate change”.

The discussions at the State House on Tuesday morning also included the measures that must be taken to fight climate change.

Furthermore, Switzerland is currently one of Seychelles' top tourism markets. The latest figures showed that from January to April 2022, a total of 4,530 visitors to Seychelles came from the European nation, making it the eighth highest tourism market. The top three markets are France, Russia and Germany.

While in Seychelles, the new ambassador also paid courtesy calls to Vice President Ahmed Afif and the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Sylvestre Radegonde.

The Swiss Ambassador to Seychelles is based in Antananarivo, Madagascar.