Seychelles signs new economic and technical accord with China |03 August 2016

Seychelles has signed a new agreement on Economic and Technical Cooperation with China under which Seychelles will benefit from a 100 million RMB grant (approximately US $15 million).

The signing of the agreement took place on July 29, 2016 in Beijing on the margins of the Coordinators Meeting on the Implementation of the Follow-up Actions of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Summit.

Ambassador Vivianne Fock Tave, Seychelles ambassador to China, and Qian Keming, the Chinese Vice-Minister of Commerce, signed the agreement on behalf of their respective government.

The grant will be used to fund key infrastructure projects such as the construction of a new building (including purchase of modern equipment) for the Seychelles Broadcasting Corporation (SBC) and other priority projects earmarked by the government.

The provision of this grant is in accordance with the three-year action plan agreed by China and African countries at the FOCAC Summit, held in early December in Johannesburg last year, during which China pledged US $60 billion in aid for the infrastructural and human capacities development of African countries over a period of three years.

Over the past 40 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, China has been a very important bilateral partner for the socio-economic development of Seychelles and has financed numerous social projects such as housing estates, schools, the National Assembly, Palais de Justice, among others.