25 October 2013 – The Philippines and Seychelles held the inaugural Joint Committee Meeting in Victoria, Seychelles from October 21 to 23 in accordance with the Economic and Technical Cooperation Agreement signed on February 03, 2010.
The Philippine delegation, headed by Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for International Economic Relations Laura Q. del Rosario, met for three days with the Seychellois delegation, which was headed by Secretary of State Ambassador Barry Faure.
It was a landmark meeting between two archipelagic states. The delegations discussed recent developments in the Philippines and Seychelles, as well as in their respective regions of Southeast Asia and Africa, and exchanged views on the current state of bilateral relations between the two countries. Both sides expressed their satisfaction with the excellent ties of friendship and cooperation between the two countries and expressed their mutual interest to consolidate and broaden these bonds through the Joint Committee.
The meeting also discussed the “Blue Economy” and its impact on the future of global food security. The Philippines advocates sustainable utilization of ocean resources, as well as conservation.
Through the Agreed Minutes of the 1st Philippines-Seychelles Joint Committee Meeting, signed on October 23 by Undersecretary del Rosario for the Philippines and Ambassador Faure for Seychelles, both sides acknowledged that the many commonalities between the Philippines and Seychelles provide an opportunity to work together across a variety of sectors including labor and employment, trade and investment, tourism and culture, environment and renewable energy, agriculture and fisheries, and education and human resource development.
Several ministries of the Seychellois government, including finance, trade and investment, labor, tourism, health, agriculture, education, environment, energy attended the meeting. Members of the private sector of Seychelles, such as the Seychelles Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Seychelles Petroleum Company, joined the meeting to present their plans and programs where the Philippine private sector could participate. Seychelles could be the Philippines’ gateway to Africa, a market of approximately one billion people, for Filipino businessmen to export their goods.
Undersecretary del Rosario was assisted by the Philippine Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, and other DFA officials.The Honorary Consul of Seychelles to the Philippines, Joselito “Butch” Campos, Jr., also participated in the meeting. END
