The just-concluded visit by Chinese President Hu Jintao was a
historic event in the development of Sino-Seychellois relations and
marked a new era in cooperation between the two countries,
Seychellois President James Michel told the media in Victoria on
Saturday.
The differences between China and Seychelles were great but the
similarities were even greater, Michel said in a statement at the
airport just before the departure of President Hu Jintao, who
arrived here on Friday from Mozambique.
Seychelles and China had so much in common in terms of their
vision of the future, development and friendship, he added.
Seychelles had benefited a lot from China in its socioeconomic
development in the past 30 years, the president said.
Hu is the first Chinese head of state to visit the Indian Ocean
island country since the establishment of bilateral diplomatic
relations in 1976.
Seychelles is also the last leg of Hu's eight-African-country
tour which included Cameroon, Liberia, Sudan, Zambia, Namibia,
South Africa and Mozambique.
China and Seychelles signed five agreements on bilateral
cooperation Saturday morning following talks between the two
presidents.
China agreed to build a new National Assemble house and a school
for Seychelles as well as to provide US$ million in budget support
and another 50 million yuan, or US$6.4million for mutually-agreed
future projects.
Two-way trade between the two countries was officially put at
US$5.9 million in 2006.
(Xinhua News Agency February 11, 2007)
