As from January next year, a regular charter plane will be flying to Seychelles from Russia, in a bid to boost Russian tourism in Seychelles.

The airline will have an inaugural flight to Seychelles on January 2 and will fly here every ten days.

This was said by the Head of the African department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Kryukov yesterday afternoon.

“The presence of Russian tourists here will be even greater then,” said Mr Kryukov, who was speaking to the press after calling on President James Michel at State House.

Earlier, he had called on his local counterparts at the Mont Fleuri-based Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The diplomat said his visit is aimed at holding political and bilateral consultations with his ministry’s equivalent here.

“President Michel and I discussed our countries’ relations, which are very good and traditionally friendly. The cooperation is developing dynamically,” he said.

“We are encouraging the presence of Russian entrepreneurs here, which is already evident in some areas such as hotel construction, and I think this will continue.”

He added that their discussions were also on their countries’ political interactions within the United Nations.

In a communiqué from State House issued after the meeting, President Michel praised the bilateral relations between Seychelles and Russia, particularly in view of the recent support of Russia for Seychelles’ anti-piracy initiatives in international fora.

“We value the friendship that has existed between our two countries for a long time, as we share a common vision for development as well as supporting each other on international issues. We thank Russia for support in the fight against piracy and we look forward to continued support in strengthening the resolve of the international community to bring stability to Somalia and put an end to piracy,” the communiqué quoted the President as saying.

The communiqué said Mr Kryukov assured President Michel that Russia is ready to assist Seychelles in various anti-piracy initiatives, and that further talks would take place to identify the type of cooperation that is envisaged.

Mr Kryukov was accompanied on his visit to State House by the Russian Ambassador to Seychelles, Mikhail Kalinin.

Forrás: www.nation.sc