British High Commissioner Lindsay Skoll bids farewell
Tue, 04 August 2015 | Foreign Affairs
The British High Commissioner to Seychelles, H.E. Mrs. Lindsay Skoll paid a farewell call on President James Michel at State House this morning following a three year tenure in Seychelles.
President Michel thanked High Commissioner Skoll for her hard work, dedication and contribution to the development of excellent relations between Seychelles and the United Kingdom, particularly in the fight against piracy, education, capacity building and the Blue Economy.
“I would like thank you for the work you have accomplished during your mandate to further deepen the friendship between the United Kingdom and Seychelles, with fruitful partnerships and positive outcomes. The UK remains one of Seychelles’ valued developmental partners, bilaterally and through international bodies like the European Union and the Commonwealth. Our two countries have benefited from the friendship and history we share to collaborate at ever greater levels,” said President Michel.
The President and the High Commissioner reviewed the various cooperation programmes between the UK and Seychelles and spoke of the plans to increase cooperation and develop new partnerships in the future.
High Commissioner Skoll thanked the President and his government for the support she has received during her tenure and said that the relations between the two countries are a real partnership where transformational work has taken place.
In a press conference yesterday morning, High Commissioner Skoll told local media said that her work in Seychelles has been fascinating particularly in the fields of anti-piracy work, improvement of prison conditions, and the development of the country’s Paralympics team. She also noted that the allocation of Chevening Scholarships for Seychelles has risen from 2 a year to 6 a year, which is the highest allocation of Chevening Scholarships per capita, in the world.
“ It’s been incredibly interesting, I cannot believe how fast the time has flown, it’s been endlessly fascinating, quite challenging at times, but overall extremely rewarding,” said High Commissioner Skoll when commenting on her three years of work in the Seychelles.
Also present in the meeting were the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Transport, Joel Morgan, the President’s Diplomatic Adviser, Ambassador Callixte d’Offay, the Deputy British High Commissioner, Mr. Dave Jones, the Press, Politics and Public Affairs Officer of the British High Commission, Mr. Matthew Harper.