Africa-Press – Seychelles. “Our relationship with the Seychelles is based on proximity and trust”
Since October 2022, Olivia Berkeley-Christmann is the new Ambassador of France to the Seychelles. She has already engaged in several discussions and projects to strengthen the already healthy cooperation between France and the Seychelles.
Press spoke with Ambassador Olivia Berkeley-Christmann to find out more about the ongoing projects.
You have been sent to the Seychelles since October 2022, how is your integration in the Seychelles?
Ambassador Olivia Christmann: It is a chance to be able to arrive on this little paradise of the Indian Ocean and also to discover all aspects of the Seychelles – environment, organization and authority.
From your accreditation, you said that your priority will be to translate this excellent relationship into concrete projects and actions. What are these projects and how are you going to proceed with them?
Ambassador Berkeley-Christmann: Our relationship with the Seychelles is based on proximity and trust. It is in the multinational forums (United Nations, conference of the United Nations on climate change {COP}) as well as regional (Commission de l’Océan Indien, COI). To bring to life its strategic aspects and these major objectives in a regional way is through bilateral relations. We have very concrete cooperations in different areas with the Seychelles. We still want to redevelop them, especially in the field of medicine and the environment.
Relations France /Seychelles – describe this relationship to us in a few words.
L’Ambassadrice Berkeley-Christmann: We share a common history, a common language – French – and this proximity in the neighborhood. It is an enviable relationship and we strive to maintain both high-level contacts and in the region, especially with the islands of Réunion and Mayotte.
In terms of training, France is among the few countries that offer us training, will this always be a priority in your mandate?
Ambassador Berkeley-Christmann: Vocational training is also a priority for the Indian Ocean Commission. We have begun to develop these apprentice exchanges in the technical fields including bakery and pastry. We also want to develop in the field of water, waste treatment and the blue economy.
The other part is the influence of the French and through this we have the training of teachers at the same time from the Alliance Française as well as from the public schools of the Seychelles. We are also in the process of developing exchanges with the University of Réunion, because it is important to have a continuum.
Sea surveillance is one of the major actions that your country continues to ensure – how is the collaboration with our country?
Ambassador Berkeley-Christmann: Maritime security is one of the major challenges and thanks to our regional cooperation which is in constant contact with its counterparts. We are trying to organize joint actions with the Armed Forces in the Southern Zone of the Indian Ocean (FAZSOI). They guarantee the protection of the national territory and encourage regional cooperation from Réunion and Mayotte. They constitute the main point of support of the theater “Océan Indien” to fight against regional threats, such as piracy or illegal immigration, to ensure the surveillance of the exclusive economic zones associated with all the islands of the zone of responsibility and maintain a regional capacity for rapid intervention.
How do you describe the relationship between France and the Organization Internationale de la Francophonie?
L’Ambassadrice Berkeley-Christmann: We are also working to strengthen because we really want all energies to converge so that we can celebrate the Francophonie with concrete projects. I already had this trip to Réunion and I will have others in order to meet the OIF (Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie) to see how to work more upstream on the projects. The field of youth and sports is a very promising field.
With the next year’s Olympic Games, we will be able to promote French when talking about sports.
How is the preparation for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games going at the level of the French Embassy here?
Ambassador Berkeley-Christmann: We are not far away and there will be a real Olympic consulate within the embassy that will facilitate the procedures. We have also signed the ‘TERRE DE JEUX 2024’ labeling convention. This agreement signed with the Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games 2024 will allow the embassy in Victoria to be integrated into the network of embassies ‘TERRE DES JEUX 2024’.
Throughout the year, the embassy, in partnership with members of the French team ‒ and Seychelles partners ‒, will propose a set of activities (competitions, sports meetings, conferences, exhibitions, video animations, meetings. ..) in order to celebrate the values of the Olympics and to start the journey to Paris 2024.
You are staying in the Seychelles for another three years, do you plan to visit the different islands?
L’Ambassadrice Berkeley-Christmann: Our mission in a country is not really defined, but it normally lasts a minimum of three years. But as long as the French President wishes that I develop the Franco-Seychelles relationship and that I put in place the transformational agenda of President Emmanuel Macron for Africa and the Indian Ocean. I have already started the visits and among the concrete projects we have a project on the protection of the Vallée de Mai on the fight against fire as well as the new naval base. There are also projects concerning eco tourism.
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