President James Michel met with the Australian Prime Minister's Special Envoy to Francophone Countries, William Fisher and the Australian High Commissioner to Seychelles, Sandra Vegtig, at State House this morning.

President Michel thanked the Government of Australia for the support it is giving to Seychelles in various fields of cooperation, such as the fight against piracy, as well as the recent training of Seychellois life guards by Australian professionals.

Mr. Fisher delivered personal greetings from Prime Minister Julia Guillard, as well as noting the development of a 'special relationship' between the two countries. Mr. Fisher expressed appreciation for the increased level of cooperation between Seychelles and Australia, and detailed new projects and ideas for development in the future.

Mr. Fisher noted that Australia is the Vice Chair of the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC), and that Seychelles holds the Presidency of the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC), and therefore the two countries are working together to improve cooperation between Indian Ocean countries on matters such as piracy, maritime security and environmental issues.