Exim Bank of China reaffirms commitment to Seychelles’ development |03 February 2007

Mr Li arrived aboard a private jet on Thursday evening, and was received at the Seychelles International Airport by the Governor of the Central Bank, Francis Chang-Leng.

He is leading a 15-strong delegation which held discussions with the members’ Seychellois counterparts at the St Anne Resort yesterday.

President Michel described the bank as a great friend of Seychelles, and said that it has over the years contributed a lot to this country’s economic development.

“It is a pleasure to welcome you to Seychelles, especially in view of the coming visit of President Hu Jintao,” President Michel told Mr Li as he received him at State House, adding that the Chinese President’s visit will further foster the relations between the two countries.

“We are very pleased to be here and I do hope we can further strengthen our cooperation,” Mr Li said, noting that the meeting took place ahead of the visit of President Hu, which he described as historic, being the first ever by a Chinese President.

He said that the President’s upcoming visit goes a long way to showing what importance China attaches to the relations with Seychelles.

He said that he was looking forward to discussions that would be centred on various projects.

After leaving State House, Mr Li, whose official day started with a meeting with Finance Minister Danny Faure, headed for St Anne where he led his delegation in discussions with a Seychellois team which was led by the Minister for Investment, Industries and Technology, Jacquelin Dugasse.

The day-long session of discussions was opened by Minister Faure, who took the opportunity to thank the bank for the many projects it has funded in Seychelles.

“When we look around our islands today, we are proud of the developments that have taken place and continue to do so, all thanks to our good friends and loyal partners like the Exim Bank of China.

As we embark on our mission to modernize the Seychelles economy and reposition ourselves in the highly competitive world, we again find that our faithful partners are here to help us in our quest,” Minister Faure said.

During the discussions, there were presentations by the Public Utilities Corporation and representatives of the fisheries sector.