First Lesotho high commissioner to Seychelles accredited |26 January 2011

She then paid a courtesy call on Vice-President Danny Faure.

In an interview with the press after meeting the two leaders, Mrs Khechane-Ntoane passed on warm greetings from the Lesotho head of state King Letsie III to President Michel and the people of Seychelles.

“What we intend to do is to take our diplomatic relations forward by deepening the cooperation between ourselves,” she said.

“In Lesotho we want to promote tourism development and we believe there is a lot to learn from Seychelles in the tourism sector.

“We want to explore the possibility for a young graduate exchange programme. This is because we are in the SADC (Southern African Development Community) but we seem not to know what we need to know about other member countries.”

On the economic front, plans to sign a double taxation avoidance agreement as soon as possible were also discussed. Mrs Khechane-Ntoane said this will ensure investors in both countries do not pay taxes twice.

Climate change and how it affects the two countries, as well as the issue of piracy, were also on the agenda.

“Though Lesotho is a landlocked country, it also bears the brunt of an adverse climate where agriculture suffers and weather changes,” said Mrs Khechane-Ntoane.

The impact of piracy on countries of the region was discussed at length, and Mr Michel expressed Seychelles’ appreciation to the SADC and Lesotho for their support in the fight against the scourge.

Mrs Khechane-Ntoane described relations between the two countries as “warm, and this is clearly seen in terms of support in international forums like the UN, the African Union and the SADC. We intend to deepen bilateral cooperation and relations between our two countries.”

During this first visit, courtesy calls on other high government officials have also been planned.

Mrs Khechane-Ntoane, who is based in Pretoria, South Africa, leaves Seychelles on Friday.