Economic Transformation Strategy

CHAPTER 1 / INTRODUCTION Political Trends emerging on the global stage include major political shifts in different parts of the world. Ideological battles over political values such as democracy, rule of law, freedom of the press, and freedom of speech are giving way to fights grounded more directly in naked self-interest. A decade ago, so-called "Western" democratic and libertarian political values played a central role in international diplomacy. The recent emergence of increasingly nationalistic right-wing governments and political movements in developed countries is challenging established global order and creating significant tensions. The implications of this change on bilateral, multilateral and political relations are major considerations going forward. Seychelles must therefore astutely evaluate and respond, to the best of its ability, to the potential impacts of the changes in the global political landscape on its development agenda. Internally, we must evaluate the political landscape to mitigate upsets to the development process. Politics must not be detrimental to the country's development agenda. It is thus important to consider our local political climate as a determinant in national development priorities, consumer and investor confidence. Emerging economies The number of economies searching for ways to be more active in the global economy is growing rapidly. The digital transformation of communications and other industries is allowing access and global reach for more businesses in many countries. Increasing numbers of emerging economies have successfully developed their tourism industries, and many can offer the sun, sea and sand experience similar to Seychelles, and thus competition in this tourism mar- ket is growing. However, as emerging markets become wealthier, the number of tourists from developing countries seeking to explore new destinations also increases. As Seychelles seeks to become further economically developed and globally competitive, innovation, strategic commerce and investment techniques will have to be employed. Science, technology and innovation A plethora of applications demonstrating new capabilities from robotics, materials science, 3D printing, sensors, arti- ficial intelligence, biotechnology, and a variety of sources are enabling new business processes that are transforming business and economic opportunities and the way we live. In the same way that technology has transformed our lives and the sort of businesses that thrive over the past 15 years, so we should anticipate that the world of 2033 will be very different to the world of today, with technology being a major driver of change. About 70 percent of the world's surface is covered by oceans, but ocean science and innovation are relatively underdeveloped. With fish stocks dwindling, growing ocean pollution and concerns over the marine environment, the strong influence of oceans on climate at a time of global warming, and advances in biotechnology which could sustainably release economic potential from the sea, it is certain that over the next 15 years the blue economy will increase in importance - and Seychelles can be at the forefront of this trend. Information technology and communications have shrunk the world, and with constantly increasing bandwidth avail- able, many new opportunities will be developed for sharing knowledge and expertise over great distances, e.g. new models for health or education delivery, or for security, or banking or to support dispersed business applications. But also increasingly the dark side of IT is emerging with cyber security and cybercrime issues, "fake news", opinion manipulation and cyber espionage. Energy Sources of energy are proliferating as storage methods are becoming more effective. In 2017, energy storage pilot projects, demonstrations, and trial projects emerged around the world in a most unanticipated manner. Consumers are actively searching for ways to achieve energy independence, and distributed energy solutions, where consumers or communities generate their own energy, are growing across the globe. The age of dependence on fossil fuels may be ending as the world increasingly moves to power generated by harnessing the respective powers of wind, sun, biomass, nuclear and water. Eco-friendly energy generation is graduating towards energy supply based on both public and private participation and ownership. Seychelles is making considerable progress towards generating electricity 31

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