A delegation from Namibia is in Seychelles this week for a working visit. The head of the Namibian delegation is the Executive Director from the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Ms. Annely Haiphene, and she is being accompanied by 6 key personnel with a background in Environment Regulations, Law, Fisheries Monitoring, Compliance, Policy Planning and Economics. The Department of Blue Economy headed by the Principal Secretary, Mr. Kenneth Racombo met with the delegation on Monday the 19th of September 2022. The main aim of the meeting was to go over the past and ongoing projects and initiatives of the Department of Blue Economy of Seychelles and to share best practices so as to help the Namibian delegation further expand on their Blue Economy initiatives.
Following the meeting with the Department of Blue Economy, the delegation of Namibia met with several stakeholders related to the field of Blue Economy as well. Namibia is in the process of developing a National Blue Economy Policy, and it recognises and appreciates the fact that Seychelles has made substantial progress in the field of Blue Economy. This has prompted the Namibian representatives to partner with Seychelles to learn from best practices, to enrich its policy, and develop a practical implementation action plan for it. The head of the Namibian delegation, Ms. Annely Haiphene noted that they have been impressed with all that Seychelles has been able to achieve and they understand clearly why Seychelles holds the title of ‘Blue Economy Champion in Africa’. The series of meetings concluded on a hopeful note, and with a hope that the existing partnership between Seychelles and Namibia will be strengthened through such a collaboration and through all future projects moving forward.