Cultural agreement to boost China-Seychelles ties |06 October 2015

The culture department of Seychelles and that of the Henan Province of China have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) aimed at strengthening their cultural ties.

A delegation from the Henan Province was in Seychelles to help improve the learning environment at the National Conservatoire of Performing Arts (NCPA) as well as lend their expertise in combating the fungus issue at the National Archives, a problem that has existed for well over the last twenty years.

The agreement was signed last week by the principal secretary (PS) for culture Benjamine Rose and the director general for the Henan Provincial department of culture Yang Liping.

The ceremony was held at the National Cultural Centre in the presence of the Minister for Tourism and Culture Alain St Ange, PS for tourism Anne Lafortune, vice-governor of the Henan Provincial department of culture Zhang Guangzhi and his delegation.

The promotion of Chinese resources representing Chinese culture in Seychelles through exchanges and training of Seychellois artists in China will also be catered for through this agreement.

Speaking after the signing, Minister St Ange said the agreement will strengthen relationship between our two countries.

“We all know that Seychelles has benefited a lot from the People’s Republic of China in various fields and culture is just one of those fields of cooperation,” he said.

PS Rose thanked the delegation for their support and hopes that this furthers our cultural ties.

Mrs Liping said: “With the signing of the MoU and the practical collaboration I think our cooperation will be wider and our friendship much stronger.”

She also hopes that this cooperation will bear fruitful results.

After the signing, the Chinese delegation visited the NCPA along with the minister and the NCPA director Pierre Joseph.