The Seychelles National Assembly on Thursday ratified the provisional application of the partnership agreement between the European Union and its member states and that of the Organisation of the African, Caribbean and Pacific states (OACP).
Seychelles signed the Samoa Agreement, which is a framework for the relations between the European Union (EU) and the Organisation of African, Caribbean, and Pacific States (OACPS) on November 15.
The new Partnership Agreement will take effect as of January 1, 2024, and will replace the Cotonou Partnership Agreement, which will end on December 31.
The signing of the agreement will allow Seychelles, an archipelago in the western Indian Ocean, to continue to benefit from the ongoing EU cooperation.
In a press statement on Thursday, the National Assembly said that the International Affairs Committee (IAC) met with representatives of the Foreign Affairs Department (FAD) to review the Samoa Partnership Agreement.
The National Assembly said that “the implications of not ratifying the agreement were explained by the Foreign Affairs Department, noting the potential diminishing of the voice of Seychelles at the table where crucial issues like climate change and human rights are discussed. To provisionally apply the Samoa Partnership Agreement, a resolution is required to be passed by a majority vote of the National Assembly.”
The new partnership agreement will serve as the new legal framework for EU relations with 79 countries and this includes 47 African, 16 Caribbean and 15 Pacific countries, and Maldives.
The differences between the Cotonou and Samoa agreements were also queried by the committee members.
The Foreign Affairs Department explained that the Samoa Partnership Agreement places a much greater emphasis on commitments to human rights, democracy, and good governance.
The new agreement covers six priority areas and these are democracy and human rights, sustainable economic growth and development, climate change, human and social development, peace and security, and migration and mobility.
Twenty-two members of the National Assembly voted for the ratification of the agreement.
