Seychelles and Israel have signed a bilateral air service agreement for increased frequency of flights between the two countries.
The pact when implemented will create more opportunities for tourism and business exchanges.
Signatories to the agreement are the Principal Secretary for Civil Aviation, Ports and Marine, Alan Renaud, and the newly accredited Israeli Ambassador to Seychelles, Michael Lotem.
This was contained in a press release from the office of the Principal Secretary for Civil Aviation, Ports and Marine, Alan Renaud.
Renaud said, “Agreements are important ones as they talk about the rules for air services between countries when it comes to passengers, cargo, and mail.
“We have agreed with our partners in Israel to expand the number of frequencies from 14 flights per week to 28 flights per week and this will take immediate effect after the next exchanges of letters”.
The agreement was initiated in October 2015 following which visitor arrival numbers from Israel started increasing. According to the latest figures from Seychelles’ National Bureau of Statistics, a total of 9,069 Israeli visitors have landed in Seychelles since the start of 2022, ranking among the top ten markets of the island nation.
Direct flights to Tel Aviv, Israel are currently being operated by Seychelles’ national airline, Air Seychelles. Renaud outlined that at the moment Air Seychelles’ capacities for export are already full as the island nation exports fish to Israel.
Lotem said, “the agreement aims at ensuring that both sides get reciprocal conditions and to regulate the aerial connection between Israel and Seychelles.”
Earlier during the day, Ambassador Lotem presented his credentials to Seychelles’ President Wavel Ramkalawan.
Following the short ceremony at State House, Victoria, Lotem told the press that their discussions mainly revolved around agriculture, business, health, and tourism.
“When it comes to agriculture, we discussed the fact that these days, agriculture does not depend on space, soil, water, and weather. It stands alone. It is a sector that with the right technology, you can produce as much as you choose to produce. That is something that we should be working on,” said Lotem.
“The easiest thing is to talk about what can be done – so many things can be done everywhere but the most important thing is to find people who want to do it with us and Israelis who want to work with Seychelles.”
Source: Seychelles News Agency
