Seychelles' President arrives in Mauritius for 189th Anniversary of the Abolition of Slavery ceremony 

Ramkalawan (right) was met upon arrival by Mauritian Prime Minister Pravind  Kumar Jugnauth. (State House)

President Wavel Ramkalawan conveyed Seychelles' appreciation for Mauritius' financial support following the disasters of December 7  in Seychelles in his meeting with Mauritian President Pritvirajsingh Roopun.

Ramkalawan is the chief guest of the Mauritian government at the ceremony to commemorate the 189th Anniversary of the Abolition of Slavery in Mauritius on Thursday February 1.

Mauritius donated $50,000 to assist Seychelles after two major blows on December 7. Heavy rainfall caused severe damage to roads, flooding, and landslides, with damage to several properties and three people died. The same day, an explosion of four containers of explosives at a quarrying company in the Providence Industrial Estate caused massive damage to residential homes and commercial buildings, along the east coast of the main island of Mahe.

According to State House, Ramkalawan was greeted upon arrival in Mauritius on Wednesday by Mauritian Prime Minister Pravind  Kumar Jugnauth.

The two leaders also met for further discussions where they took the opportunity to identify possible areas of shared interest and best practices upon which both Seychelles and Mauritius could benefit.

" I deeply appreciate and value the excellent cooperation between our two countries. To that end, I wish to affirm our dedication to working closely with you and your government to maintain this exceptional partnership and solidarity and to explore new areas in our cooperation," said Ramkalawan.

President Ramkalawan with the President of Mauritius. (State House) Photo License: CC-BY

Ramkalawan also met with the Mauritian President, Pritvirajsingh Roopun.

"The warm welcome and gracious hospitality extended to my delegation and I since our arrival in Mauritius is deeply appreciated. Seychelles and Mauritius enjoy a strong bond of friendship and cooperation that is deeply rooted in our shared history and heritage, similar challenges and our close proximity as sister islands," he said.

On his side, Roopun congratulated Seychelles for having moved up three places on the recently announced 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index.

He said that as a fellow African island nation, they share the pride of seeing islands of the region performing extremely well.

Ramkalawan expresses support for the return of Chagos to Mauritius

In an interview with the national state broadcaster of Mauritius - MBC- Ramkalwan said "Seychelles will support Mauritius in relation to Chagos. We believe that the issue of Chagos must be resolved once and for all.  Chagos is for Mauritius Island and the United Kingdom must complete the decolonisation process."

Seychelles and Mauritius to continue working together

Ramkalawan told MBC that the two island nations will "continue to work together since we are going through the same challenges as small island states. We remember that we are part of the African continent but we are two exemplary islands for Africa in governance and economy. We also both feel the same on other challenges like climate change."

He said the two sides will continue to cooperate on the economic side, especially in the areas of capacity building.