President James Michel met the President of Cyprus, Nicos Anastasiades, at State House last Friday. 

President Anastasiade was on a private visit to Seychelles and left the country yesterday.

President Michel wished President Anastasiades a pleasant stay in the country and recalled the strong ties of friendship between Seychelles and Cyprus, following the exile of Archbishop Makarios in the 1950s in Seychelles, who later became the first President of the Republic of Cyprus.

“Cyprus and Seychelles share strong historical links. We greatly value our historical bond through Archbishop Makarios and appreciate the many years of friendship we have enjoyed, and which we still enjoy. Archbishop Makarios is part of the history of Seychelles. He loved Seychelles and the people while he was here,” said President Michel.

President Michel said that both Seychelles and Cyprus, as two island maritime nations, give a lot of importance to the development of maritime resources and tourism.

The two leaders spoke about ways to strengthen tourism, trade and investment partnerships which will boost exchanges between the two countries.

They noted that they already have in place a joint Seychelles-Cyprus commission with the aim of strengthening bilateral relations in various areas.

“We have had the opportunity to work very closely with Cyprus at the multilateral level mainly through the EU, the Commonwealth and the United Nations. In all these fora, we have appreciated the support of Cyprus on Sids (small island developing states) issues, including the Blue Economy, and climate change,” said President Michel.

Forrás: www.nation.sc