President Michel’s Sri Lankan visit starts to bear fruits |10 May 2013

Less than a year since President James Michel undertook his first official visit to Sri Lanka -- aimed at further strengthening relations between the two countries -- many projects and agreements discussed and signed there have materialised. Sri Lanka already has professionals assisting Seychelles in the field of legal affairs and education, to name a few. Teachers from there are already in Seychelles to teach or lecture in both secondary and post-secondary institutions and a new Sri Lankan judge has just been sworn in.

As the President said before his departure: “As two Indian Ocean states, Seychelles and Sri Lanka have a lot of experiences and opportunities to share with each other. In times of global economic crisis and fierce global competition for market access, it is important to boost south-south cooperation and increase commerce and investment in the region, as well as our competitiveness.

“Seychelles is also interested in joining hands with Sri Lanka in order to further develop the concept of the blue economy as a means to protecting and better utilising marine resources for the mutual benefit of both countries.”

After holding a tête à tête with Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa during the visit, bilateral ties and discussions between Sri Lanka and Seychelles really got a big boost with the signing in Colombo of four memoranda of understanding covering various fields .

The first agreement was signed with a view to establishing and strengthening exchange and cooperation in the field of health between the two countries.

The second is for various forms of co-operation in education, such as teacher recruitment, training and student exchanges.

The third seeks to regulate the employment of Sri Lankan manpower in Seychelles, in accordance with relevant laws and procedures applied in the two countries and through applications made between the two governments.

The fourth concerns bilateral cooperation in the field of legal affairs, particularly legal drafting and the recruitment of legal experts from Sri Lanka.

The agreements were signed by the Seychelles Minister for Foreign Affairs, Jean-Paul Adam, the Sri Lankan Minister for External Affairs, Professor G. L. Peiris, as well as the Sri Lankan Minister for Education, Bandula Gunawardane and the Sri Lankan Minister for Foreign Employment and Welfare, Dilan Perera, witnessed by both President Michel and President Rajapaksa. 

Commenting on his visit to Sri Lanka, President Michel said it will provide impetus for further development of cooperation of the already excellent relationship between the two countries.

“We are both Indian Ocean countries, we need to build and expand our circle of friendship in our ocean. It is our ocean, let us ensure that we assume our ownership and protect our resources.... We need to reinforce our cooperation in fisheries, maritime security, education and health as well as increase trade and investment between our countries,” said President Michel during his meeting with President Rajapaksa.

President Michel noted the strong historical links between Seychelles and Sri Lanka, especially as a large number of Sri Lankan teachers have contributed to the Seychelles education system in the last thirty years, as well as the current important contributions to society being made by Sri Lankan legal experts.

The President also commended President Rajapaksa on the progress that has been made to resolve conflict in Sri Lanka after 30 years of war, and the steps taken for reconciliation between aggrieved parties.

Today, less than a year later, Seychelles and the Seychellois are benefitting from President Michel’s official visit to Sri Lanka. www.nation.sc  highlights some of the prominent projects and agreements realised since then.

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa comes to Seychelles on official visit

The culmination of President James Michel state visit to Sri Lanka was the returned three-day official visit to Seychelles of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa from June 29 to July 1, 2013.

President Rajapaksa was warmly welcomed on arrival at the airport by President Michel himself and his Seychellois delegation and representatives of the Sri Lankan community in Seychelles.

The first official function of President Rajapaksa here was the signing of three cooperation agreements in the fields of education, defence and air services between Seychelles and the Democratic Republic of Sri Lanka. President James Michel then hosted a reception in the gardens of State House for his Sri Lankan counterpart a day after the Sri Lankan President’s arrival.

“Twenty-five years ago we started to build a bridge of friendship between our two countries. Today, on the occasion of your visit, we celebrate this friendship and the bond that binds us together. We will continue to enhance our good cooperation,” President Michel said while offering the toast.

The reception also served as a celebration of twenty-five years of friendship and partnership between the two countries.

In reply, the Sri Lankan president also wished good health to President Michel and prosperity to the people of Seychelles.

Another major event of President Rajapaksa’s visit here was the bilateral talks held with President James Michel at State House where the Sri Lankan President confirmed that Sri Lankan Airlines was keen to start flights to Seychelles this year and that details of these new air links will be further discussed in the near future.

“The new flights will surely open doorways for business, tourism, cooperation and trade exchanges between Seychelles and Sri Lanka. Seychelles can become a gateway to Africa and other parts of the world. The air links will be a catalyst to ensure increased cooperation between our two countries,” said President Michel.

Besides air links, discussions at the meeting focused on cooperation projects and agreements between Seychelles and Sri Lanka on matters of trade and investment, cooperation in the banking sector, fisheries, maritime, defence, education, health, tourism, energy, legal affairs, piracy and small industries development.

President Michel again noted the importance for Seychelles and Sri Lanka to implement the blue economy concept and unlock the true potential of the Indian Ocean.

President Rajapaksa thanked President Michel for the warm welcome and hospitality extended to his delegation, adding that “it is a great pleasure and honor to be here in Seychelles. Your visit to Sri Lanka in August 2012 was a landmark event in our relations. We hope for stronger cooperation and avenues for new relations in other fields as well”.

During discussions at a business forum on investment opportunities held at the conference centre of the Kempinski Hotel, Baie Lazare, members of the business community of both Seychelles and Sri Lanka were honored by the presence of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

The forum was attended by a number of dignitaries and stakeholders from both countries, who called on business leaders to make the most of any opportunities to collaborate with their Sri Lankan counterparts.

The Minister for Natural Resources, Peter Sinon, who was also present at the forum, said a number of landmark activities had taken place to intensify the long-standing cooperation between Seychelles and Sri Lanka.

For his part Sri Lanka’s Minister for External Affairs, Gamini Lakshman Peiris, said that it had been the Sri Lankan government’s policy to place a ‘very sharp’ focus on developing a vibrant relationship with the African continent.

“Sri Lanka has just emerged from a quarter-century long conflict, and if you were to visit Sri Lanka today, you would discover among our people a sense of euphoria and great hope for the future,” said Professor Peiris.

“This is why we are eager to embrace Seychelles as a partner as well as a tried and tested friend.”

A lighter side of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s visit to the Seychelles was the planting of a coco de mer seed at the Biodiversity Centre at Barbarons. The Minister for Environment and Energy, Professor Rolph Payet, later presented Mr Rajapaksa with a ceremonial plaque as a souvenir of the event.

“We would like to present you with this certificate,” said Professor Payet, “to keep as a memento for future generations. If your children come to visit this place one day in years to come they can bring it and say ‘my father planted this amazing tree’.”

On the last day of his three-day official visit to Seychelles, President Mahinda Rajapaksa visited the Vallée de Mai on Praslin, a Unesco World Heritage site managed by the Seychelles Islands Foundation (SIF). He was taken on a guided tour by the chief executive officer of the SIF, Frauke Fleischer-Dogley. The Sri Lankan President was accompanied on the visit by Seychelles’ Vice-President Danny Faure.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa left Seychelles on the evening of July 1, 2013 and was seen off at the airport by President James Michel, Vice-President Danny Faure, Speaker of the National Assembly Dr Patrick Herminie, chief justice Fredrick Egonda-Ntende, the president of the Court of Appeal Francis MacGregor, ministers, and other key dignitaries.