Mr. Sylvestre Radegonde, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Tourism received Mrs. Charlina Vitcheva, Director General at the European Commission, Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, on Tuesday, 6thSeptember 2022, at Maison Quéau de Quinssy.

Mrs Vitcheva is in Seychelles for the Blue Invest Africa Event taking place on 7thand 8thSeptember 2022 at the Eden Bleu Hotel. Seychelles is the first country in Africa to host this event, usually held in Europe.

The meeting was an opportunity for Mrs Vitcheva to brief Minister Radegonde on the Blue Invest Africa Event, which she described as being business orientated and focused on sustainable development.

During the meeting, Minister Radegonde and Mrs Vitcheva discussed issues concerning multilateralism and regional and international cooperation that can benefit Seychelles and EU.

They also touched on the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) Agreement, which Mrs Vitcheva defined as "the most important tuna agreement for Europe" and commended Seychelles for being one of the best implementers of the Agreement.

The two leaders agreed to support each other in international fora on matters of common concern, such as the threat of Climate Change, amongst others.

Mrs. Vitcheva was accompanied to the meeting by the Head of the EU Delegation accredited to Seychelles, Ambassador Vincent Degert, who on his part, discussed the ongoing collaboration between Seychelles and the EU and the preparations for the EU Political Dialogue scheduled to take place in October 2022.

Also present at the meeting were Principal Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Vivianne Fock Tave, and high officials of the Foreign Affairs Department.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Tourism - Foreign Affairs Department, Republic of Seychelles.