The President of the Republic of Seychelles, Mr. James Alix Michel, has warmly welcomed the Prime Minister of the Republic of Mauritius, His Excellency Dr. Navinchandra Ramgoolam, to Seychelles for the start of a historical State Visit.

It is a great honor to welcome Prime Minister Dr. Navinchandra Ramgoolam to Seychelles for his first State Visit, and our guest of honor for the National Day celebrations. Mauritius and Seychelles have recently increased bilateral cooperation in the fight against piracy, the joint management of the extended continental shelf in the Mascarene Plateau Region, as well as Indian Ocean Commission cooperation. We welcome the Prime Minister today and hope to extend the depth of our relations of our already promising partnership,” said President Michel.

The Prime Minister, who arrived with a high-level government delegation, including the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade, Dr. Arvin Boolell, was greeted by President Michel and the Seychelles Cabinet of Ministers, as well as the Speaker, the Chief Justice, and other high-level members of the greeting party, at the Seychelles International Airport during a special arrival ceremony held in honor of his arrival.

“The people of Seychelles and Mauritius have always shared a close relationship due, not only to our close proximity, but also to the many parallels in our culture and history, as well as our ambitions and challenges as Small Island Developing States, which is why this historic visit is an occasion to celebrate,” said the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Jean-Paul Adam.

During his four-day program, the Prime Minister has been invited to accompany President Michel to the National Day celebrations, as well as to call on State House and deliver a special address to an Extra Ordinary Session of the National Assembly.

Prime Minister Ramgoolam’s previous visit to Seychelles was as the Guest of Honor at the inauguration of President Michel following the 2006 Presidential elections.

President Michel undertook his second state visit to Mauritius in March 2012 as Guest of Honor on the occasion of the 44th independence anniversary of Mauritius.

Seychelles and Mauritius established diplomatic relations in 1988.