NIP and CSP - Minister of Foreign Affairs’ Dialogue with Parliament

Minister Patrick Pillay, Minister of Foreign Affairs, presented the National Indicative Programme (NIP) and the Country Strategy Paper (CSP) under the 10th European Development Fund (EDF) to the National Assembly at its weekly Tuesday sitting of 8th July 2008.

The National Assembly’s International Affairs Committee Chairman, Honorable Waven William, has also informed us that his Committee had had the chance to peruse these documents way back since the beginning of the year.

Whereas the CSP defines the type of cooperation Seychelles, a member state of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group, has with the EU, the NIP defines the types of projects and their timeframe for implementation.

The CSP is drafted through consultations between the EU, represented by the EU Commission Delegation in Mauritius, the Minister of Foreign Affairs as the National Authorizing Officer and national stakeholders. The 2008-2013 CSP drafting process started in 2006 and finished in late 2007 when the document was signed in Lisbon in the margins of the EU-Africa Summit.

Minister Pillay’s dialogue with the National Assembly comes at a time when the 10th EDF has come into force beginning July 2008 now that the requirement for two thirds of ACP countries and all EU Member States to present their instruments of ratification of the revised Cotonou Partnership Agreement, has been met. Seychelles was the second country (after Botswana) that completed the procedures on the ACP side.

Under the CSP, Seychelles is to get a total of €5.9 million from the 10th EDF.

Minister Pillay also informed the National Assembly about EU funding for the water supply master plan. Seychelles is to get funding of €954,000 so it can draw up a master plan to improve and protect its water supplies.
This grant had been approved by the European Union through the African Development Bank. As a first step, a national technical committee to carry out a study on Seychelles’ water supply has already been set up, chaired by Principal Secretary for Environment, Mr. Didier Dogley. Once that has been completed, various environment-related projects aided by the European Development Fund (EDF) can be carried out, including the water plan.