Mr. Ray Sevste, the Chairman of the Brussels-based “Association Belge Seychelles,” met with Mr. Alain St.Ange, the Seychelles Minister responsible for Tourism and Culture. in the presence of Chantal Filez, his Seychelloise partner. and Miss Vivienne Fock Tave, the Seychelles Ambassador in Belgium.

The “Association Belge Seychelles” regroups the friends of Seychelles in Belgium and also all the Seychellois Diaspora in Belgium. “Our aim remains to bring Seychellois and Friends of Seychelles together on a social basis. We will work to support efforts such as the Carnaval International de Victoria, because this showcases Seychelles to the wide world,” Mr. Sevste said after a working dinner at the “Aux Armes De Bruxelles” Restaurant.

Minister Alain St.Ange, who was accompanied at this working dinner by his Miss Benjamine Rose, his Principle Secretary for Culture, and Mrs. Raymonde Onezime, his Special Advisor, said that it was refreshing to see Seychellois and Friends of Seychelles come forward to support a national event such as the island’s annual carnival. “We appreciate your commitment to work to be able to move a group from Belgium to Seychelles for the 2013 edition of the Carnival next February. This will bring added diversity to the Indian Ocean Vanilla Island’s unique ‘Carnival of Carnivals’ that is staged annually in Seychelles,” Minister St.Ange said at the working dinner.

At the 2012 edition of the carnival in Seychelles, 31 overseas floats and delegations were represented at the “Carnival of Carnivals” where all the very best and known carnivals now make it a point to be represented and fly their country’s flag as they pass the large bank of foreign press coming from the four corners of the world.

Known carnivals at the 2012 edition including the famous Notting Hill Carnival from the UK, the popular Dusseldorf Carnival from Germany, the Brazil Carnival, the Trinidad&Tobago Carnival, and the Venice Carnival from Italy among others.

“These big names from the world of carnivals walk side by side with cultural troupes from the Community of Nations and together they bring to life the theme of the carnival since its launch – ‘the melting pot of cultures,’” Minister St.Ange said.

This must be the only carnival where navies from the world also join in with platoons parading behind delegations from the Brazilians or London Carnivals.

“We invited navies from the Community of Nations to join us in Port Victoria in a show of solidarity against the organized armed gangs from Somalia who have managed for the last couple of years spread havoc off the coast of Africa resulting in increased cost of food in Africa as a result of increased shipping costs. These organized armed gangs have also impacted on cruise ship business using the African coast shipping lanes. This is why Seychelles invited the navies from the Community of Nations to stand together, and what a better venue to do that than in the world’s smallest and by far the safest capital during a carnival,” said the Seychelles Minister St.Ange.