Seychelles and the European Union signed a €2 million technical cooperation agreement called the European Solidarity Action (EnSEL) on Tuesday.

The agreement was signed by Seychelles' Minister for Foreign Affairs and Tourism, Sylvestre Radegonde, and the European head of delegation, Ambassador Oskar Benedikt, in the presence of the French Ambassador to Seychelles, Olivia Berkeley-Christmann.

EnSEL (pronounced in Creole), is a Technical Cooperation Facility provided by the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI), which is the main financing tool of the EU to contribute towards eradicating poverty and promoting sustainable development, prosperity, peace and stability.

Following the signing, Radegonde said that it is still undecided which projects will benefit from the grant.

"The Seychelles and the European delegation will work together to decide on the areas that we will focus on, mainly environment, resilience and climate change as well as governance," said Radegonde.

On his side, Benedikt said this fund is meant exclusively for Seychelles.

"The idea is to support Seychelles as a friend and partner with the additional facility of €2 million in non-repayable grants and they should be used in the best way for you. I think we have some common priorities which are becoming the priorities of the world. We are hoping that we can support you in different ways in sustaining and diversifying your economy based on a sound and pristine environment," added the ambassador.

Benedikt said, "We will decide together what to use it for, it will be a little bit different from the previous one in so far as the EU delegation itself will manage the projects and not a consultant. This will be done of course together with Seychelles."

He clarified that this new modality is meant to remove unnecessary steps along the way and make the process more efficient.