New Canadian high commissioner, Chinese ambassador present credentials |21 May 2008

Janet Siddall for Canada and Wang Weiguo for China called on Vice-President Joseph Belmont shortly afterwards.

Mrs Siddall, the 11th high commissioner of Canada to be accredited to Seychelles since diplomatic ties were established in 1976, said she hopes during her two-year mandate to strengthen and expand existing cooperation between the two countries.

She said her meeting with President Michel had also been an opportunity to discuss ways of exploring new areas of cooperation. She hopes Canada and Seychelles will work together on issues such as democracy, rule of law, economic governance and the environment.

Mrs Siddall said Seychelles and Canada already enjoy positive relations and share many of the same values. She gave as an example their contact through multilateral organisations such as La Francophonie – yesterday she delivered an invitation from the Canadian Prime Minister to President Michel to attend the Semaine de la Francophonie in Quebec City later this year.

There is a sizeable Seychellois community living and working in Canada, though at present there are few Canadians or Canadian investments here.

Mrs Siddall added that Canada will continue to support Seychelles’ views as a small island state through regional and multilateral forums.

On the question of scholarships, she pointed out that even though there has been some rationalisation, Seychellois students still benefit, with two in Canada at the moment.

Mrs Siddall, who is based in Dar es Salaam, is also her country’s representative in Tanzania, Madagascar and the Comoros. She replaces Andrew McAlister, whose two-year term ended last year.

New Chinese ambassador Mr Weiguo described Seychelles as beautiful, peaceful and quiet and said he is very happy to be here.

                        
He is looking forward to developing cooperation between the two countries, which he described as very good, pointing to many areas where China has invested.

He said he has been touched by the warm welcome given him on his first visit and also by the promptness with which the President and people of Seychelles conveyed their sympathies to the Chinese people following the Sichuan earthquake.
 
He also conveyed President Hu Jintao’s heartfelt thanks to President Michel for the message of condolence.

Mr Weiguo, who is the 11th Chinese ambassador to be accredited since Seychelles and the People’s Republic of China established diplomatic relations in 1976, replaces Geng Wenbing, who served as ambassador from 2005-2008.