WT/ACC/SYC/65
WT/GC/168
26 March 2015
(15-1692)  Page: 1/2
  Original: English
 
COMMUNICATION FROM THE REPUBLIC OF SEYCHELLES 
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT JAMES MICHEL FOLLOWING  SIGNATURE OF THE RATIFICATION OF THE 
WTO ACCESSION PROTOCOL ON BEHALF  OF THE REPUBLIC OF SEYCHELLES 
 
The following communication, dated 25 March 2015, is being circulated at the request of the 
Delegation of the Republic of Seychelles. 
 
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Vice President, Ms Hilda Al Hinai, Mr. Chiedu Osakwe, ministers, ladies and gentlemen, 
 It is a proud moment for Seychelles to have  taken this final step towards WTO accession. 
 
We are not joining WTO because we have to join.  
We are becoming a member because we know we can bring additional value to the organisation. 
 But most importantly, we know we can bring additional value to the people of Seychelles.  
The economic reforms that I initiated in 2008, have sought to strengthen our resilience in the face 
of potential global shocks.  Joining WTO ensures th at we are not bystanders while global processes 
are shaped and directed by others.  It ensures that we can create more opportunities for our 
people while also defending their right to development. 
 As a Small Island Developing State - we are reliant  on open access to trade in goods and services 
both to ensure that the basic needs of our people  are met, and to ensure that we continue to 
create opportunities for wealth creation and prosperity.  It is no secret that it is hard for small states to carve a niche for themselves in the global 
economy.  But our achievements since 2008 show that we can mobilise the global economy to 
strengthen our position - to build our resilience - and create our own opportunities.  
As we join this world trading body, we look forward to working with the WTO Secretariat to further 
help us in building our capacity.  
We will work with you to comple ment our national efforts towards empowering our private sector, 
and in particular our Small and Medium Enterprises.  Our future success economically depends on our ability to innovate - to build on our strengths and 
reduce our weaknesses. 
 Our call to develop our Blue Economy is one such initiative which aims to transform our situation 
from price takers in the global economy to shapers of new models of development. 
 And to develop the Blue Economy we will need to leverage the research and technological support 
from across the globe.  WTO is well placed to facilitate this access to the key drivers of our Blue 
Economy transformation.  WT/ACC/SYC/65 • WT/GC/168 
 
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  We would like to assure all our partners, as we  enter WTO, that Seychelles does not believe in 
inertia.  We are joining to help to continue to bring forward momentum.  To ensure that we can continue to link trade and development in a meaningful way.  That we can ensure through more transparency in international trading rules, that long term investments are secure. 
 
In conclusion I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to Ms. Hilda Al Hinai, the Chair of our Accession Working Party, as well as to the WTO Director General and the WTO secretariat 
represented here today by Director of accessions, Mr. Chiedu Osakwe.  I would also like to thank 
the staff of all the relevant government ministries and departments in Seychelles that have spared no effort to help us reach accession under the able guidance of our Chief Negotiator, Mr. Charles Morin.  I thank the Members of the National Assembly for their engagement in the process and 
their unanimous endorsement of our accession.  And finally my appreciation to those who 
succeeded me in the Finance and Trade portfolio to ensure that we reached satisfactory conclusion, namely Vice President Danny Faure and former Minister Pierre Laporte who have 
prepared the way for our current minister, Jean-Pau l Adam to ensure that we derive the benefits 
required post accession.  
I am convinced that WTO accession opens up a new chapter for Seychelles' development. 
A new chapter whereby even though we know we are still vulnerable to external shocks - we have 
many more tools with which to cope with these shocks.  That we have many more tools to build other opportunities that ensure that our economies are fundamentally sustainable.  
I thank you for your attention. 
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