the Prime Minister of Mauritius, the Honorable Dr. Navinchandra Ramgoolam, met with Mr. Alain St.Ange, the Seychelles Minister responsible for Tourism and Culture, when he was on a one-day working visit to Mauritius last Friday for the official opening ceremony of the first edition of the island’s Shopping Fiesta.

Prime Minister Ramgoolam met Minister St.Ange at his Port Louis Offices, and together they proceeded with private discussions on matters pertaining to working in closer collaboration in the field of tourism, the Vanilla Islands, and culture.

The Mauritian Prime Minister also handed a letter addressed to President James Michel of the Seychelles before presenting to the Seychelles Minister two books and a DVD collection on the history and on the landscape of Mauritius. Minister Alain St.Ange also took the opportunity to offer to the Prime Minister, a Seychelles Sega CD and a book entitled “Seychelles, Enters the World of Carnivals” that was issued by the Minister himself following the 2011 carnival in the Seychelles.

Meeting the Mauritian TV and press after the meeting with the Prime Minister, Alain St.Ange explained that Seychelles and Mauritius had entered a new dimension in cooperation. “The visit to Seychelles by Prime Minister Ramgoolam where he was the guest of honor at our National Day celebrations, followed the visit of the Seychelles President Michel to the National Day celebrations of Mauritius. The friendly ties between the leaders of the two neighboring islands have paved the way for closer collaboration between the two islands. This collaboration can only benefit the people of both our islands and in so doing our economies,” Minister St.Ange said.

The Seychelles Minister was in Mauritius at the invitation of the Chairman of the MTPA (Mauritius Tourism Promotional Authority) to attend the official opening ceremony of the Shopping Fiesta of Mauritius. “We needed, as part of the group of the Vanilla Islands, to be present and show our support to Mauritius with their Shopping Fiesta that is now the part of the Vanilla Islands Calendar of Events as is our Carnaval International de Victoria,” Minister St.Ange of Seychelles said.