The President of the Republic, Mr Danny Faure, received a representative of the Government of Japan and Special Envoy, Ambassador Yoshifumi Okamura, at State House this afternoon. Ambassador Okamura is the Special Envoy for World Exposition 2025, and is currently on an official visit to Seychelles to discuss Japan’s candidacy for the World Exposition 2025 and seek Seychelles’ support for its candidature.

In the meeting, President Faure highlighted the longstanding ties of friendship and cooperation that exist between Seychelles and Japan and thanked Ambassador Okamura for personally coming to Seychelles. “Japan has emerged as one of our most active partners over the years. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1976, close ties of friendship and collaboration have been established and continue to move from strength to strength,” said President Faure.

In addition to discussion on enlisting Seychelles’ support for Japan’s candidacy for World Expo 2025, the President and Ambassador Okamura also discussed other areas of mutual interest geared towards fostering greater bilateral relations between the two island nations and contributing toward socio-economic development. Potential areas of further cooperation discussed include the fisheries sector, capacity building opportunities, tourism, coastal erosion management, renewable energy, as well as the possibility of opening a Japanase Embassy in Seychelles.

Ambassador Okamura also presented a formal invitation to President Faure to attend the Tokyo International Conference for Africa Development 7 (TICAD) next year.

Ambassador Okamura was accompanied to State House by Mrs Tomoko Kawano, Second Secretary, Economic Affairs and Economic Cooperation from the Embassy of Japan in Kenya, Mrs Yui Takashima, and Officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs.