(Seychelles News Agency) - The 88 honorary consuls of Seychelles around the world will each adopt a district in the country so as to meet the needs of the community, the foreign affairs department’s announced on Thursday.

There are 26 districts covering the islands, which are administrative and electoral constituencies.

In a press conference, the director general the Protocol, Consular and Diaspora Affairs division, Jacques Belle, revealed that the project, which was presented in the last virtual consular conference held in October 2021, caught the interest and was approved by all the honorary consuls of Seychelles, a group of 115 islands in the western Indian Ocean.

The Department of Foreign Affairs is currently working with the Ministry of Local Government to complete each district’s profile so that their needs and requirements can be established. The mayor of Victoria, district administrators, and members of the National Assembly are also involved in the process.

“During the next consular conference that we hope is held physically in Seychelles, honorary consuls will be able to visit the districts. The same project has already been carried out with ambassadors to Seychelles,” said Belle.

Given that the island state has only nine embassies overseas, it relies heavily on the work of honorary consuls to promote its diplomatic agenda, forge new partnership with governments and international organisations, attract investment and cater to the needs of its citizens abroad.