Seychelles President James Michel met with Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his delegation at State House this morning.

The two Presidents joined their delegations for part of a bilateral meeting, together with Vice-President Danny Faure, the Seychelles cabinet of ministers and a member of the National Assembly. President Rajapaksa was accompanied by his Minister for External Affairs, Professor G. L. Peiris, the Minister or Higher Education, Honourable S.B. Dissanayake, Monitoring Member of Parliament of the Ministry of External Affairs, Honourable Sajin de Vass Gunawardena, High Commissioner-designate of Sri Lanka in Seychelles, Mr. Rajitha Piyatissa, High Commissioner of Sri Lanka in Malaysia, His Excellency I. Ansar and others.

The two leaders then met together to discuss state affairs in a tête-à-tête meeting.

During the bilateral meeting, President Michel reaffirmed Seychelles’ commitment to further strengthen the relations between Seychelles and Sri Lanka, one defined by mutual respect and founded on shared values and aspirations.

“On behalf of the government and the people of Seychelles, I extend a very warm welcome to you. It is an honour and great pleasure having you here with us once again. Since your last visit, so much has happened between Seychelles and Sri Lanka and it shows how close our relations are. I hope that your visit will create the framework for us to be able to move further our relations. The partnership that we have forged shows the rest of the world that we can achieve the south-south cooperation. Sri Lanka has a lot to offer and we can also share our experiences. Min Hin airlines has been a catalyst of this cooperation and we hope that it continues doing well and rest assure that we will do our utmost so that cooperation flourish between our two countries,” said President Michel during his introductory remarks.

On his part, President Rajapaksa said that he is happy to be here in Seychelles once again and agreed that a lot has happened since their last encounter. He expressed Sri Lanka’ interest in developing the Blue Economy concept as well as their participation in the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) Forum to be held in Samoa September 2014.

“We are bonded by historical ties and friendship. As island nations we share and value this relation. Our partnership has been strengthened by establishing different cooperation programmes. Thank you your Excellency for the kind gesture in allowing for the opening of the Sri Lanka High Commission here in Seychelles. We have been able to identified several areas of cooperation, some of which has already be acted on and places opening today such as the Bank of Ceylon, the High Commission, medical centre among others, which are expected to enhance our bilateral cooperation. I have no doubt that the openings taking place and this bilateral meeting will strengthen further our relations,” said President Rajapaksa.

Following their meetings, the two leaders witnessed the signing of six cooperation agreements between the Government of Seychelles and the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. Thereafter, President Michel hosted a luncheon in honour of President Rajapaksa.

“We also greatly value your friendship in our joint efforts and action to mobilize the international community to address more effectively the needs and vulnerabilities of islands, to promote cooperation on environmental issues such as climate change and oceanic development and the implementation of the blue economy concept,” said President Michel in a toast in honour of President Rajapaksa.

President Rajapaksa highlighted the history of bilateral cooperation between Seychelles and Sri Lanka during his toast address. He said that he is satisfied that more agreements have been signed between the two countries today and that his country will do its best to take actions on those signings.

“As island nations in the Indian Ocean, we share many commonalities in values and cultural traditions.  Our people to people interactions continue to further enhance these connections… I have no doubt that this unique relationship will be further strengthened in the future for the mutual benefit of two countries and peoples,” said President Rajapksa.

In the afternoon, President Michel and President Rajapaksa attended the ceremonial openings of the High Commission of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, the Bank of Ceylon branch,  and the Sri Lanka Insurance branch.

Editor’s note:-

For details on the bilateral meeting and MOU's signed, please see press release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.