privilege afforded to the central bank of seychelles to host this high level dialogue. i also wish to thank both the public and private sector participants, for the overwhelming response to the invitation to attend the event, and for your active participation. to our panellists, thank you for your well prepared presentations and eloquent sharing of your experiences and expertise. we also thank the moderators, who have also done a great job at chairing the presentation of each topics and engaging the audience to contribute towards the debate, as well as the rapporteurs for taking notes and highlighting the key issues that have been raised. i am hopeful that the esaamlg secretariat will work towards the implementation of all recommendations that have come out of this exercise. my sincere appreciation also goes to the staff of the central bank of seychelles for their hard work in putting this event together. as we end, i would like to wish our esteemed international guests and delegates, a safe and pleasant journey, back to your respective homes. for those who are staying in seychelles for a few more days, do take a moment to explore the islands, which boast some of the most breathtaking beaches and amazing sceneries. we look forward to welcoming many of you back in seychelles, in april next year, when we host the esaamlg workshop on digital financial services, bureau de change and money remittances. i thank you all for your attention.

have been achieved including : - the introduction of the central bank of seychelles immediate transfer service ( cbsits ) creating an interbank platform for effecting payment transactions. - the establishment of an electronic cheque clearing ( ecc ) system allowing for a same day cheque clearing process via the electronic exchange of cheque images. - the seychelles electronic funds transfer ( seft ) as an alternative means for interbank funds transfer. - the introduction of the first securities exchange. - the licensing of the first payment service provider to offer mobile payment services. - the implementation of the electronic payment gateway for the payment of government services. - commissioning of a number of feasibility / diagnostic studies in respect to government payments, remittance market, the implementation of a central securities depository and that of a real time gross settlement system. albeit, all the progress made, there are still important milestones that remain to be achieved in order to further develop the financial sector, especially where adoption of innovative payment systems and consumer empowerment are concerned. in this context, the cabinet of ministers approved the financial sector development implementation plan in november, 2014. the plan serves to provide the government and all stakeholders with a clear guidance in key policy areas for financial sector development. it is a nation - wide document detailing the strategies of the seychelles government to strengthen and deepen the financial sector with the ultimate objective of enhancing the country ’ s economic development. the key strategic objectives are : - strengthening the financial sector ’ s legal and regulatory framework. - developing the national payment system and other relevant financial infrastructures. - improving access to credit of small and medium enterprises. - strengthening the regulation and supervision of non - bank financial institutions. - developing the capital markets. - other relevant cross cutting issues such as consumer protection, financial literacy and financial inclusion. as part of the output of the plan, a financial literacy baseline survey was commissioned last year with the aim of gauging the level of financial literacy of the population and provide an assessment of its needs, including the identification of possible target groups. the survey was the first of its kind to be conducted in the country and will be a crucial element in the drafting of a national strategy for financial education. similarly, a survey was also completed last year under the sme development project. the survey had as objective to provide disaggregated data about smes that will be used to review smes development issues across various population segments and training needs. as a result, the following were identified as challenges that inhibit