The Seychelles will reopen its borders to international visitors, irrespective of their vaccination status, on March 25.
Sylvestre Radegonde, the country's minister for foreign affairs and tourism, announced in a press briefing on Thursday that there will be no quarantine requirements or movement restrictions for travellers to the Indian Ocean archipelago.
The only requirement is that all visitors will need to present a negative PCR test, taken 72 hours prior to arrival. They will then need to adhere to public health measures currently in place in the country, which include the wearing of faces masks and social distancing in public.
The only visitors exempt from these new rules are those from South Africa, who will not be permitted to enter the Seychelles until further notice.
Radegonde explained that the decision to review and relax entry procedures was a response to the country's aggressive vaccination programme. The Seychelles is accelerating its vaccination efforts to ensure that 70,000 residents will have received their doses by Thursday, March 25. At present, 56,000 people have received at least a first dose of either the Sinopharm or Covishield vaccine.
“The vaccination campaign has been quite successful. The government has done everything in its power to make sure that the population is protected. We have now arrived at the point where opening our borders further is the next step to allow for our economic recovery,” Radegonde said.
“The measures being announced reflect broadly the recommendation of our tourism partners and have been done in full consultation with and the endorsement of our health authorities.”
Seychelles, an archipelago in the western Indian Ocean, has recorded 2,979 cases of Covid-19, out of which 316 are still active, and 15 people have died of the illness.
The Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index
The Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index
Mazen Abukhater, principal and actuary at global consultancy Mercer, Middle East, says the company’s Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index - which benchmarks 34 pension schemes across the globe to assess their adequacy, sustainability and integrity - included Saudi Arabia for the first time this year to offer a glimpse into the region.
The index highlighted fundamental issues for all 34 countries, such as a rapid ageing population and a low growth / low interest environment putting pressure on expected returns. It also highlighted the increasing popularity around the world of defined contribution schemes.
“Average life expectancy has been increasing by about three years every 10 years. Someone born in 1947 is expected to live until 85 whereas someone born in 2007 is expected to live to 103,” Mr Abukhater told the Mena Pensions Conference.
“Are our systems equipped to handle these kind of life expectancies in the future? If so many people retire at 60, they are going to be in retirement for 43 years – so we need to adapt our retirement age to our changing life expectancy.”
Saudi Arabia came in the middle of Mercer’s ranking with a score of 58.9. The report said the country's index could be raised by improving the minimum level of support for the poorest aged individuals and increasing the labour force participation rate at older ages as life expectancies rise.
Mr Abukhater said the challenges of an ageing population, increased life expectancy and some individuals relying solely on their government for financial support in their retirement years will put the system under strain.
“To relieve that pressure, governments need to consider whether it is time to switch to a defined contribution scheme so that individuals can supplement their own future with the help of government support,” he said.
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