(Seychelles News Agency) - The Seychelles' capital Victoria has signed a twinning agreement with the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don to establish friendly exchanges and city relations.

The agreement seeks to promote and extend friendship links between the peoples of Seychelles and the Russian Federation on the basis of equality and mutual benefit for both cities.

When signing the agreement last week, the Mayor of Victoria, David Andre, said that twinning agreements present numerous advantages, paving the way for less bureaucracy and protocols between the two governments.

"One of the direct or immediate benefits we stand to gain is tourism. We can expect more visitors from Rostov, for them to be more aware of Victoria and Seychelles. We can also benefit culturally, in the education sector. As well, we can share certain things while we learn from them on how to better implement things in our own countries," said Andre.

He said that the agreement offers opportunities that will enable both cities to identify activities that can generate new initiatives to further nurture the economic, social and cultural ties which Russia and Seychelles share.

Rostov-on-Don is a large city in the south of Russia with a population of 1.3 million people. It is a stronghold of the agricultural and industrial sector and has a booming economy. In this year alone, investments in the city have surpassed $1.7 billion.

In addition to tourism, Seychelles, an archipelago in the western Indian Ocean, can also benefit by having students study in Russia, as Rostov-on-Don currently accommodates over 250,000 students at the various universities in the district.

The twinning agreement is the second signed by Victoria with a city of the Russian Federation. The first was signed with Moscow in 1998.

Andre also explained that the two cities will also expand mutually beneficial cooperation in a wide variety of economic, educational, scientific, cultural and sports endeavours and foster beneficial urban management solutions.

In addition to signing agreements with Russia, Seychelles signed its first virtual twinning agreement with the town of Petit Caux in France in October.