President to visit Seychelles next week

President Maithripala Sirisena will be arriving in Seychelles next week on his first state visit to the country which will run from 8-10 October, Seychelles’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a release.

President Sirisena will be accompanied by First Lady Jayanthi Sirisena and a high-level delegation.

President Sirisena is visiting Seychelles on an invitation extended to him by Seychelles President Danny Faure in March last year, during President Faure’s working visit to Sri Lanka.

President Sirisena and President Faure are expected to have bilateral discussions on various areas of cooperation between the two countries.

The talks are expected to concentrate on health, education, tourism, environment, fisheries, maritime security and the Indian Ocean Commission among many other topics.

Today marks exactly 30 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries and this visit is likely to pave the way for further cooperation between the two Indian Ocean neighbours, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

Seychelles and Sri Lanka established diplomatic relations on 3 October 1988.