The International Day of Friendship |01 August 2026

The many faces of friendship

This past Thursday, July 30, was marked around the world with the idea that friendship – between people, but also between countries, cultures and communities – can help build peace and understanding. The United Nations established the observance in 2011, with a particular focus on young people, encouraging them to take part in activities that bring different cultures together and build respect for diversity.

For a few years now, I have chaired two organisations built specifically around this idea: the Association for the Promotion of Friendship between Seychelles and China, and the Seychelles-Russia Friendship Association. What that experience has shown me is that friendship between countries is not one-size-fits-all. It takes different shapes depending on the relationship, and each shape is equally genuine.

Take Seychelles’ relationship with China. China is a country of over a billion people; Seychelles has just over one hundred thousand. On paper, that is not a natural partnership between equals. But in practice, it has never been treated that way. Confucius himself described friendship as the one relationship in life built between equals, rather than rank or hierarchy – chosen freely, on equal terms, regardless of size or status. That is a fair description of how this relationship has actually worked. It shows in the practical, negotiated cooperation between our two governments – from the very National Assembly building in which our laws are debated, built with China's support, to more recent 

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