Seychelles and Malaysia are working on diplomatic agreements in air services, according to a press statement from the Ministry of Transport on Tuesday.

This was one of the main topics of discussions between the Seychelles' Minister for Transport, Antony Derjacques, and his counterpart from Malaysia, Anthony Loke.

Discussions were held at the Global Air Services Negotiation event (ICAN-2024), taking place in Kuala Lampur.

In order to provide insightful information as Seychelles proceeds with its proposed airport master plan, Loke also invited Derjacques and his delegation to tour Malaysia's airports.

The purpose of the tour was to exchange design and best practices with Seychelles in order to modernise the Seychelles International Airport.

The Seychelles Airport Masterplan was completed earlier this year and the last presentation was made to the Cabinet on June 26. As the Cabinet still had some reservations about certain infrastructures and the financial plans, these two components are being explored further.

The major upgrade for the Seychelles International Airport to accommodate the increase in traffic was unveiled in 2022 by Garry Albert, chief executive of the Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority (SCAA), on the 50th anniversary of the airport's existence.

In November 2022, EGIS Emirates was appointed to review and prepare an updated 30-year airport master plan for the Seychelles International Airport.

Aside from discussions relating to air travel, both ministers stressed the value of people-to-people exchanges, highlighting the growing number of Seychellois students pursuing their studies in Malaysia.

The ministers agreed that this academic engagement represents a vital avenue for capacity building in Seychelles, contributing to the nation's future development.

To conclude their meeting the ministers reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening bilateral cooperation and continuing to engage on issues of common interest in the transportation and aviation sectors.