Sunday, 17 May 2009 20:00   
Seychelles Forum

Distinguished guests

Ladies and Gentlemen

Thank you for accepting our invitation and giving us the opportunity to host you in our country for the first Seychelles Forum.  Please feel welcome among us.  The Seychelles Forum is about us; and it is also about you.  It is a gathering of all of our stakeholders; partners in development and friends of Seychelles.

Friends, the Seychelles Forum is about building a strong partnership in support of a clear and un-wavering vision. We will share this vision with you.

Standing where we are now, it is remarkable to look back and reflect on how far we have come.  Just May last year, the Seychelles economy was choking.  We had run down our foreign exchange reserves.  The world food and fuel crisis was pushing us over the edge.  Decisions had to be taken. 

I am delighted that the right decisions were made by our President.


The right decisions to embark on a comprehensive reform program to transform Seychelles into a modern-market-based economy, removing controls, preserving social gains, and allow  the market to determine the exchange rate, interest rates and other prices in the economy .

This course presented to us enormous uncertainties, requiring us to look past the inevitable short-term economic, social and political costs, to the longer-term benefits for the people of Seychelles.

This is the path we took and we haven’t looked back.  Six months after embarking on our economic reform programme with the support of the IMF, we have transformed our macro-economic framework and are already seeing the early signs of stabilization.

This is the path in which the Private Sector will play its rightful role. This is also the path in which the Civil Society will ……

Our Parliament, The National Assembly has been proactive in supporting the timely passage of important Bills aimed at establishing a new Legislative framework to support new economic and financial policies.

Ladies and Gentlemen

The Seychelles Forum is a gathering of friends, old and new, it is an occasion for our country to share with you updated information on the economy of Seychelles and the challenges we are currently faced with.  As you hear our account, we in turn hope to tap into your expertise and benefit from your support. 

I invite you to join us in paving “The Way Forward”.