Seychelles advances trade, tourism, agriculture and air links with Rwanda and Angola
Seychelles is advancing the implementation of longstanding cooperation agreements with Rwanda and Angola following bilateral talks held on the margins of the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.
Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Diaspora, Barry Faure, held separate discussions with his Rwandan counterpart, Olivier Jean Patrick Nduhungirehe, and Angola's Minister for External Relations, Téte António, with both meetings placing emphasis on putting existing cooperation frameworks into practice.
With Rwanda, the two ministers agreed on the need to activate a General Cooperation Agreement that has been in place since 2013 and begin the process of establishing a Joint Commission between the two countries.
They also discussed moving ahead with existing memoranda of understanding in several fields, with the aim of translating previous commitments into practical areas of cooperation.
The General Cooperation Agreement was signed in August 2013 during an official visit to Rwanda by Faure, who was then Seychelles' secretary of state for foreign affairs.
It identified areas including health, tourism, culture, education, agriculture, trade and investment, air services and information and communications technology for cooperation. The agreement also made provision for the establishment of a joint commission to facilitate collaboration between the two countries.
The bilateral relationship was expanded further during Rwandan President Paul Kagame's state visit to Seychelles in June 2023, when a series of memoranda of understanding and agreements were signed covering areas including law enforcement, defence and security, agriculture, health and tourism.
The package also included a visa waiver agreement allowing Seychellois citizens to travel to Rwanda without a visa. Rwanda currently allows Seychellois ordinary passport holders visa-free stays of up to 90 days.
Speaking during the 2023 visit, Kagame said the two countries intended to deepen cooperation in areas of mutual benefit, including health, defence and security, tourism and agriculture.
“For Seychelles and Rwanda, tourism is a key driver of economic growth,” he said, adding that cooperation in the sector could also create opportunities for air connectivity and stronger commercial links.
Implementation of the agreements has remained on the bilateral agenda since then.
In March this year, Vice-President Sebastien Pillay raised the issue during talks in Seychelles with Christine Nkulikiyinka, a special envoy of Kagame and Rwanda's Minister of Public Service and Labour.
Vice-President Pillay proposed establishing a designated focal point to improve coordination and implementation of joint initiatives. The discussions also explored opportunities for Seychelles' maritime products to enter the Rwandan market, as well as cooperation in education, tourism, agriculture, public service delivery and institutional capacity-building.
At the latest meeting in New York, Faure and Nduhungirehe also discussed facilitating movement between the two countries.
The Rwandan minister highlighted his country's visa-free entry arrangements for nationals of African Union, Commonwealth and Organisation internationale de la Francophonie member states.
Seychelles and Rwanda are members of all three groupings.
Faure's discussions with Angola similarly focused on advancing agreements that are already in place.
The two ministers discussed implementing the General Cooperation Agreement signed by Seychelles and Angola in June 2021 and agreed to begin technical-level discussions to identify areas where the countries could work together.
The 2021 agreement was signed alongside an Agreement on the Creation of a Bilateral Commission, providing a mechanism through which specific areas of cooperation could be discussed and monitored.
Efforts to make the mechanism operational have gained renewed attention this year.
Following the accreditation of Angola's new non-resident ambassador to Seychelles, Domingos de Almeida da Silva Coelho, earlier this month, President Patrick Herminie called for the inaugural session of the Bilateral Commission to be convened.
The discussions at State House identified trade and investment, tourism, agriculture, aviation, sport, fisheries, ocean governance, energy and information and communications technology as possible areas for expanded cooperation.
Air connectivity has remained an area of interest between the two countries, with Seychelles having sought to conclude a Bilateral Air Service Agreement with Angola.
The issue was again raised during Faure's meeting with António in New York, where the ministers highlighted the wider importance of improved air links within Africa for tourism, trade, economic cooperation and people-to-people exchanges.
The UNGA discussions also identified more specific opportunities for the two countries to exchange expertise.
Minister Faure raised the possibility of Angola providing technical support to Seychelles in sport, particularly through coaching expertise in basketball, handball and volleyball.
Angola, meanwhile, expressed interest in Seychelles' experience in tourism as the southern African country works to further develop its own tourism industry.
The ministers also discussed formalising a visa waiver arrangement signed between the countries in 2025.
Seychelles and Angola are approaching 40 years of diplomatic relations, which were established in November 1986.
The latest discussions with Rwanda and Angola form part of a wider series of bilateral engagements undertaken by Seychelles during UNGA81, as the country looks to use existing diplomatic relationships to develop more practical cooperation in areas ranging from tourism and agriculture to trade, sport and connectivity.