(Seychelles News Agency) - Zimbabwe seeks to benefit from the experience of Seychelles in the tourism sector as part of bilateral cooperation between the two countries, said new Zimbabwean ambassador.

Dave Hamadziripi became the first ambassador of Zimbabwe to Seychelles after presenting his credentials to President Wavel Ramkalawan on Tuesday at State House, Victoria.

“Zimbabwe is also a very attractive tourist destination. Even if we offer a different package altogether, we can still benefit from the experience of Seychelles in marketing, training and other related areas in the tourism sector. We have agreed to work closely together also with the minister of foreign affairs and tourism to develop that relationship,” Hamadziripi told reporters.

Seychelles and Zimbabwe are both members of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC), the Common Market for Southern and Eastern Africa (COMESA), the African Union and the United Nations.

The success of the Seychelles COVID-19 vaccination programme was also highlighted.

“We are impressed by the number of people who have been vaccinated. In Zimbabwe, we have a vaccination programme that is progressing well, but the number of those who have been vaccinated is not as high as it is in Seychelles,” outlined Hamadziripi.

Hamadziripi also met with the Seychelles’ Vice President Ahmed Afif and the discussion centred around the forthcoming UN conference on climate change – COP26 - in Glasgow.

“What we discussed was our concern about the acceleration of climate change and our expectations that developed countries who are largely responsible for this acceleration of climate change, would meet their commitment in terms of financial support, technical support to developing countries so that we can better mitigate the effects of climate change,” said the ambassador.

The newly accredited ambassador also met with the Seychelles’ Minister of Finance, Naadir Hassan and the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Tourism, Sylvestre Radegonde.  

“I am looking forward to meeting the chairman of the Seychelles Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI). We are having all these meetings with the view to explore ways in which we can improve the trade relations between Zimbabwe and Seychelles and also improve the people-to-people relations between the two countries. I am hoping to also meet the minister of education as we believe there is a number of possible potential cooperation in that area as well,” said Hamadziripi.

Hamadziripi will be based in South Africa.