Minister Sylvestre Radegonde has undertaken an official visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from 29th to 31st May 2022 at the invitation of His Highness Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
In their meeting the two Ministers discussed ways to strengthen the bilateral cooperation between the two countries. Minister Radegonde also conveyed Seychelles’ support for Saudi Arabia’s bid to host the Expo 2030 in Riyadh.
The Seychelles Minister for Foreign Affairs and Tourism also met with Mr Ahmed Aqeel Al-Khateeb, the Minister of Tourism for Saudi Arabia and the Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Saudi Fund for Development. The Ministers discussed potential areas of cooperation, especially in the field of Tourism, and support from the Saudi Fund for Development for potential projects, which include the reconstruction of the La Digue School and the construction of social housing on Mahe and Praslin. During their meeting the two Ministers signed a Memorandum of Understanding in the Field of Tourism, which will allow the two sides to exchange expertise in planning, tourism investment, and developing tourism sites and projects.
Minister Radegonde also held discussions with Mr Bander Almohanna, Managing Director and the Chief Executive Officer of Flynas airline, as well as Captain Ibrahim Koshy, Chief Executive Officer of Saudi Airlines, to discuss the possibility of the two airlines operating direct flights to Seychelles in the near future.
As part of his visit, Minister Radegonde also attended a tourism event organized by the Tourism Department of Seychelles to showcase Seychelles as a destination to Saudi Arabian journalists and travel trade professionals. The Seychelles Minister expressed Seychelles’ eagerness to welcome Saudi Arabian visitors to its shores.
The Minister was accompanied on his visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia by Mrs Bernadette Willemin, Director-General of the Destination Marketing Division, Tourism Department, Mr Ahmed Fathallah from the Seychelles Representation Office in Dubai and Mr Jean-Luc Louise, Third Secretary, Bilateral Affairs Division, Foreign Affairs Department.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Tourism – Foreign Affairs Department, Republic of Seychelles.
