(Seychelles News Agency) - Cooperation within the e-government and the police force as well as supporting the blue economy policy of Seychelles are some of the new areas that Seychelles and South Korea will engage in to strengthen bilateral relations.

This statement was made by the newly accredited South Korean Ambassador to Seychelles, Lim Hoonmin after he presented his credentials to President Danny Faure at State House, Victoria, on Tuesday.

“In addition to those three points, there are still various areas which we need to promote further such as the cooperation in fisheries, renewable energy areas and maritime security,” said Hoonmim.

There are a number of South Korean-flagged vessels fishing in the Exclusive Economic Zone of Seychelles, an archipelago in the western Indian Ocean.

A South Korean company, Unison, has over the years been helping Seychelles with the operation and management of a wind farm. Seychellois engineers and technicians have benefited from training as well. 

During the discussion, tourism was outlined as one area to be developed further. (Joena Meme) Photo License: CC-BY

Tourism has been outlined as an area that can be further developed to benefit the two countries.

“Seychelles is a popular destination for newlyweds in Korea with over 1,000 couples travelling for their honeymoon to Seychelles.  This is a very good start for increasing the cooperation in tourism between the two countries,” said Hoonmim.

He added that cooperation within the tourism sector can further be strengthened with “the finalisation of the aviation agreement between the two countries.”

To boost awareness of Seychelles among Korean holidaymakers, the Seychelles Tourism Board (STB) participated in the 12th edition of the HanaTour International Travel Show, which is South Korea’s largest travel show, in June. 

It was under the ‘Seychelles – the Heaven you must visit before you die’ banner that the STB team showcased the island destination to the South Korean travel trade and potential visitors.

At the event the head of the STB office in South Korea, Julie Kim, said, "Seychelles is highly reputed on the Korean market as an upper-end honeymoon destination.

Seychelles and South Korea established diplomatic cooperation in 1976.

Hoonmim will be based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.