China and Seychelles celebrated forty years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between them with a reception organised on Friday.
Vice-President Danny Faure was guest of honour at the reception hosted by the Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Seychelles, Yin Lixian, at the embassy at St Louis.
Other guests present were former President James Mancham, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Transport Joel Morgan; the Minister for Finance, Trade and the Blue Economy Jean-Paul Adam; the Minister for Investment, Entrepreneurship Development and Business Innovation Michael Benstrong; members of the National Assembly, among other dignitaries.
Both Ambassador Yin and Minister Morgan proposed a toast for long lasting relations between the two countries on behalf of their leaders and people.
“The friendship between the Chinese and Seychellois people has a long history. The past 40 years have seen massive progress in Seychelles-China relations. We have always treated each other with respect and as equals and supported and helped each other on various issues which set a good example of bilateral relations for developing countries of different sizes,” said Ambassador Yin in her address for the occasion.
She also remarked that in recent years both sides have witnessed increasing visits at top and other levels; frequent cultural and people-to-people exchanges and deepening understanding and trust.
“We have broad consensus on international and regional affairs with deepening effective cooperation in fields such as infrastructure, culture education, health and tourism,” said Ms Yin.
She cited as examples the National Assembly and Glacis primary school buildings, Chinese doctors assisting the Seychelles Hospital and teachers of the Confucius Institute, just to name some.
Commenting on the motivation that made China and Seychelles come together, Ambassador Yin said it is the common principle both countries stand up for and the common dream they are pursuing and that all countries — big and small, strong or weak, rich or poor — are equal.
“We both insist on the principles of mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity and mutual non-interference in each other’s internal affairs,” she said.
As for Minister Morgan he said for decades on, Seychelles and China established a framework for their partnership and Seychelles is proud to still have China as a trusted partner in that respect.
It is, he said, an opportune moment to look to the future and embrace new sectors of cooperation.
He remarked the two countries’ relationship started well before independence when the first Chinese merchants and traders visited our islands. And as such certain elements of Chinese culture are now an integral part of Seychellois culture.
“China is the world’s most populous nation and Seychelles one of the smallest. The meaningful engagement that our two nations share is testament to how regardless of size, we have built partnership based on a spirit of mutual respect and exemplary friendship that serves as a model for the rest of the world,” said Minister Morgan.
He also exemplified his statement by remarking on the various support and contributions China has given Seychelles which have positively touched and changed the lives of many Seychellois.
“In the spirit of South-South cooperation and cognizant of our position as a small island developing state, Seychelles remains grateful to China for understanding our constraints in terms of manpower in specialised sectors. In this regard we receive every year volunteers to assist us in developing some of these sectors,” said Minister Morgan.
Minister Morgan also announced the commencement of a new state of the art building for the Seychelles Broadcasting Corporation (SBC) soon.
Source : Seychelles NATION