Chinese Ambassador to Seychelles Shi Zhongjun paid a farewell call on President James Michel at State House yesterday morning as he comes to the end of his three-year mission here.

Mr Shi also called on Vice-President Faure yesterday and will meet the Speaker of the National Assembly tomorrow.
President Michel thanked Ambassador Shi for his support and commitment in elevating the bilateral relations between Seychelles and the People’s Republic of China. The President reaffirmed Seychelles’ commitment to further strengthen and enhance the existing friendship and cooperation between Seychelles and China.

"You have played a pivotal role in bringing the relations between our two countries forward, and in the process we have together built the friendship, which I should say is exemplary. Everywhere you go around Mahé, people can see the landmarks of our excellent relations, which have in fact increased during the last few years. We would appreciate the continued support from the People’s Republic of China for future projects. Our relations are set to further expand and I am convinced that your successor will build on what we have already achieved with the same dedication as you,” said President Michel.

The President and Ambassador Shi reviewed the various projects and cooperation that China and Seychelles have succeeded in establishing as well as those still being discussed.

Speaking to the press, Mr Shi described his three-year stay in Seychelles as very good.
“Three years ago I was appointed Ambassador to the Seychelles. This is a lovely country with lovely people and I spent three very happy years here,” said Ambassador Shi. 

He added that during his time here the relations between China and Seychelles have expanded and thanked President Michel for his support in bringing bilateral relations between the two countries to a new height. 

He hopes to see the large projects being undertaken completed and be of good use to Seychelles.

"During my tenure here, bilateral relations between China and Seychelles have strengthened. The understanding and trust between our two countries have further deepened. In the social sector, many projects have been successfully completed, such as the Seychelles National Assembly, Palais de Justice, the Anse Royale hospital and now we are continuing with the Glacis school. This year, we also witnessed the donation of a military patrol vessel built by China. 

We anticipate many more cooperation projects in the future, especially in the field of tourism. The Blue Economy concept is another area where we would like to help since China has all the technology to help Seychelles to develop this concept,” said Mr Shi who added that he foresees other projects in the future between the two countries like in tourism as for the past few years, the number of Chinese tourists to Seychelles has increased almost every year.

Mr Shi said he will bring with him to Chin a book about Seychelles which will help bring back good memories of the islands.

Ambassador Shi also said he is going back to Beijing to work for some years before taking up another mission overseas.
Also present during the meeting were the Minister for Foreign Affairs Jean-Paul Adam and the President's Diplomatic Adviser Ambassador Callixte D'Offay.

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