President Michel officially welcomed in Vietnam |29 August 2013

. As five MoUs are signed

President James Michel was officially welcomed in Hanoi yesterday morning by the President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Truong Tan Sang.

The Seychelles head of State was welcomed in the presidential palace's gardens in Hanoi with military honours, inspecting the guard together with President Sang.

Before calling on his counterpart Mr Sang, Mr Michel had laid wreaths at the Monument of National heroes and martyrs, and at the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum where he paid tribute to the former Vietnamese President who is described as the great master of the Vietnamese revolution and the beloved leader of the Vietnamese working class and the entire nation.

The first day of the visit, yesterday, was under the sign of political encounters and the strengthening of bilateral relations.

Seychelles and Vietnam signed five memorandums of understanding. Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Paul Adam signed the first between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Seychelles, as well as inked the agreement on bilateral air transportation between the two countries.

Labour and Human Resource Development Minister Idith Alexander penned the agreement on education cooperation between the Hanoi Tourism College and the Seychelles Tourism Academy, while Mayor of Victoria Jacqueline Moustache-Belle signed the MoU on friendly exchanges and cooperation between the cities of Hanoi and Victoria.

The fifth MoU on cooperation between the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and the Seychelles Chamber of Commerce and Industries (SCCI) was signed on behalf of Seychelles by SCCI chairman Marco Francis.
In the afternoon President Michel called on Ngyen Phu Trong, the secretary general of the Communist party of Vietnam, before attending a state banquet hosted by President Sang at the International Convention Centre in the evening.

Mr Michel arrived in Hanoi late Tuesday afternoon and was welcomed at the Noi Bai International airport by the Leader of the Vietnamese Presidential office, Trung Dao Viet.

Other than ministers Jean-Paul Adam and Idith Alexander and mayor Moustache-Belle, the presidential delegation comprises senior government officials, representatives of the Seychelles Investment Board, Seychelles Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority and the private sector.

The visit is being used to further strengthen relations between Seychelles and Vietnam.
Seychelles and Vietnam established diplomatic ties on August 16, 1979.

The two countries inked several economic, cultural and scientific-technical cooperation agreements in August 2010 and an agreement on visa exemption for diplomatic and official passport holders in 2011. They are actively working together to appoint a Seychelles honorary consul in Hanoi.

Two-way trade between Seychelles and Vietnam stood at about US $2.2 million last year, of which Vietnam exports were worth around US $1.3 million, with main products being rice, chemicals and fishing nets.

Seychelles has proposed that the two countries step up cooperation in tourism, fishing, trade, agriculture, environment and air transport.

Text and photos G. G.