Seychellois Ambassador to China Le Gall

Prior to President Hu Jintao's visit to eight African countries, the People's Daily reporter Mang Jiuchen had an interview with Seychelles Ambassador Le Gall.

Mang: Could Your Excellency give a brief introduction on your country's recent achievements in politics, economy and society?

Le Gall: Although Seychelles is widely perceived as a unique world-class tourist destination, it is true that many people are not familiar with the reality behind this heaven-on-earth image!

In fact my country has recently embarked on realizing its potential, as a young healthy democracy, as a small economy positioning itself in a proactive way to better tap the opportunities of our changing world and as a harmonious society eager to preserve its unity and cultural identity, while facing the challenges of globalization.

From a political standpoint, I would like to mention the peaceful Presidential elections held last year. International observers unanimously reported that this election was "credible and allowed for the expression of the will of the Seychellois people".

I think that our political stability and the reasonable attitude of all candidates accepting the result of the vote speak highly of the level of political fair-play the country has reached in a relatively short period of time if you consider that Independence was gained in 1976.

Seychelles' economy is also progressing rapidly.

Cautious and realistic macro-economic reforms have been carried out in a step-by-step approach under the guidance of President James Michel.

As you know, Small Island Developing States are relatively fragile because of their geographic location, often far away from main markets, and also due to some human resources constraints and to limited natural resources.

Thirty years ago, to reap quick and easy benefits, Seychelles could have encouraged over-fishing and mass tourism - fisheries and tourism being the two traditional pillars of our economy - and we might also have turned into industrial estates a substantial part of the national parks and reserves, which today constitute well over 40% of our land area.

On the contrary, we decided to preserve our environment as well as our social unity and not deprive future generations of their own right to exploit Seychelles' resources. We chose a slower and more demanding pace towards sustainable development.

Since Mr. Michel took office as President in 2004 significant efforts have been made to adjust our economy and open it to the outside world. Now the country experiences a continuation of its economic recovery with a good performance of both the tourism and fisheries sectors and a high level of Foreign Direct Investment.

I would like to add that Seychelles has also taken steps to establish and promote an investment-friendly environment with a modern legislation, an efficient banking system, a good network of airline connections and a set of trade policies and fiscal incentives that have sharpened the profile of our archipelago as a competitive international business centre.

We feel really lucky to be a "safe harbor" in a cyclone-free zone.

Finally, regarding the Seychellois society, the Government has long recognized the need for a people-centered approach to development. For many years, priority has been given to the elimination of poverty, the provision of quality health services, education for all, housing, water and electricity, and a reliable public transportation system as well as fair employment chances for all. In this respect, Seychelles has met the targets established by the United Nations' "Millennium Development Goals".

This being said, there is another reason behind Seychelles' success story in the field of social and human development. Seychelles is a true melting pot of people who came since the 18th century from Europe, Africa and Asia, including of course China. It is therefore a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural society united by a very strong and consensual sense of belonging to a tolerant community still abiding by such traditional values as respect to elders, solidarity, hospitality, simplicity, and also a joyful and positive spirit that makes Seychelles a very friendly nation.

Mang: China and the Republic of Seychelles have enjoyed long years of good relationship, could Your Excellency address the bilateral relationship between our two countries? What would Your Excellency think we can do to enhance the mutual relations?

Le Gall: Yes indeed, the relations between Seychelles and China are excellent!

Early November 2006, in Beijing, during his bilateral talks with President James Michel, President Hu Jintao described ties between China and Seychelles as "a model for relations between small and big developing countries".

Part of it can be explained by history and culture as in Seychelles's nation building process, the very well integrated community of Chinese origin has played an important role and is still an active economic, cultural and social player.

Besides, what has been really instrumental in the strengthening of relations between the two countries is the fact that China, in its policy towards other developing countries - and especially African countries - has never adopted a "one size fits all" strategy.

During 30 years of diplomatic relations, China has constantly paid attention to the specificities of Seychelles and as a result the two countries have engaged in a fruitful political dialogue, based on long term common interests and similar views on a range of topics including nowadays the need for a wider representation of developing countries within the UN system, the global security issue, international responses to natural disasters, the fight against pandemics, the need to balance the multilateral trading system, etc.

Seychelles, on its side, regarding Taiwan, is strongly convinced of the well-founded of the One China-Two System Policy, and also fully supports the growing role of China's diplomacy in line with the concept of "peaceful development" China is promoting on the world scene.

This climate of trust and mutual respect has been conducive to cooperation in most sectors central to Seychelles' development, in particular housing, education and health, this being complemented by cultural cooperation, technical assistance and high level exchanges of visits.

I am confident in the future of these relations and President Hu Jintao's visit will definitely give a new impetus to the political, diplomatic and economic cooperation between Seychelles and China.

I think there is a good understanding between the two Presidents as both are capable men and pragmatic leaders with a honest vision for their country.

I also think that there is a sound potential for Chinese companies and investors in Seychelles. Prospects in tourism, fisheries, trade and air transportation, among others, are very encouraging and Seychelles benefits from a strategic location on the China-Africa route.

On the other hand, more Seychellois study in China, visit China for either official, business or tourist purposes. Such events as the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai also sustain a growing curiosity for China in parallel to a sound interest in the remarkable achievements of the Chinese economy, an interest that has been going a long time in Seychelles!

Finally, I am of the view that 30 years of esteem, understanding, solidarity and cooperation have laid a very solid foundation for Seychelles-China relations and there is no doubt that President Hu Jintao's visit will be a milestone in the history of our relations and act as catalyst for even greater opportunities on the two sides.

Mang: The Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation was successfully held last November, what would Your Excellency suggest to the further development of the cooperation between China and Africa?

Le Gall: You right, and unlike several cooperation platforms in which members join to discuss their problems and compare notes on how they go about resolving them, the Forum was action-oriented and met with success.

We have learnt in the past that measures to increase cooperation require a high degree of political commitment and support, especially between countries at different stages of development and with a great deal of diversity in their historical, cultural, economic and political backgrounds.

"Beijing 2006" - if I may put it this way - overcame this heterogeneity and I think that its political momentum will last as our leaders have agreed with the win-win spirit and goal of the new strategic partnership between China and Africa.

In other words, all countries are well-positioned to take advantage of this partnership, no country is left behind.

Not so many intercontinental fora elsewhere in the world have succeeded in the recent years in conveying this message in such a convincing way!

This is why my President stated that the Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation shown clear evidence of the high level of "maturity" of the on-going cooperation dialogue between Africa and China.

Keeping this political momentum at the heart of our cooperation is of vital importance.

Outside the regular schedule of meetings initiated by the Forum, at senior officials and ministerial levels, I think it should be done simultaneously at three levels : first in the framework of bilateral relations - and we feel honored and privileged in Seychelles to have the chance, just 3 months after the Summit, to follow up its decisions in the presence of President Hu Jintao - then, I believe, this political momentum should be promoted within regional and sub regional African organizations, as both China's "African policy" paper and the Action plan of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation take into account the potential input of African regional organizations into China-Africa cooperation.

Finally, I am of the view that we should find mechanisms to relay this political momentum within other groupings either institutionalized like the Small African Island Developing States, or not yet organized and structured, such as the African Middle Income Countries, as in their case too the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation pay attention to their special needs.

Seychelles - both a Small African Island developing State and an African Middle Income Country - is willing to play its role.

There are 6 African Small Island Developing States but Small Island Developing States total 45 of the 192 member states of the United Nations. It is therefore a significant component of both the Community of African Nations and the UN, and I am sure that Small Island Developing States, including Seychelles, will help to keep alive the shared values and principles backing the Forum's Action Plan and also to promote and move forward our common agenda of friendship and cooperation.