The President of the Republic of Seychelles, Mr. James Alix Michel, has warmly welcomed the arrival of His Excellency President Mahinda Rajapaksa of Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka to Seychelles.

At the invitation of President Michel, President Rajapaksa will be undertaking the historic state visit to Seychelles from the 29th June to the 1st July.

“We welcome President Mahinda Rajpaksa for his first state visit to Seychelles, it is a great honour and sign of our special friendship. Since my visit to Sri Lanka last year, we have stepped up our bilateral cooperation and exchanges, particularly in education, health, fisheries and economic sectors. During this visit, we hope to extend our partnership and build on the excellent foundations we have established,” said President Michel.

President Rajapaksa’s programme will include a call on President Michel at State House, bilateral discussions with the Cabinet of Ministers and signings of key MoUs, an address to an Extra Ordinary Session of the National Assembly,  a  Business Forum, a special tree planting ceremony at the Barbarons Biodiversity Centre as well as a visit to Praslin and the Valee de Mai.

“Sri Lanka is a close friend of Seychelles, with many areas of close cooperation. This important visit will provide us with an added opportunity to build on this foundation and cement our ties as two Indian Ocean states with common goals of development and prosperity for our peoples,” said the Seychelles Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Jean-Paul Adam.

The arrival ceremony held this evening at Seychelles International Airport included a high level greeting party of the Vice President, Ministers, the Speaker of the National Assembly, the Chief of Defence Forces, the Chief Justice, and the President of the Court of Appeal among other key dignitaries. Representatives of the local Sri Lankan community were also present to welcome the delegation.

The Sri Lankan President is accompanied by a high level delegation that includes the Minister for External Affairs, the Minister for Sports, the Minister for Public Relations and Public Affairs, and Members of Parliament among other high level staff.