Cyprus and Seychelles are looking at further developing economic, tourism, commercial and information technology relations, said the Cypriot High Commissioner to the island nation.

The High Commissioner of Cyprus to Seychelles, Andreas Panayiotou, spoke after paying a courtesy call to President Danny Faure at State House, Victoria, on Monday.

“These areas of cooperation are behind if we are to compare them with our excellent political relations,” said Panayiotou.

Panayiotou is part of a delegation that will be attending the fourth session of the Cyprus-Seychelles Intergovernmental Commission on Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation to be held in Seychelles on Tuesday and Wednesday.

“We are going to be talking more in-depth tomorrow during the intergovernmental commission,” he added.

It was also outlined that Cyprus is looking at granting scholarships to Seychellois citizens. 

During his stay in Seychelles, the High Commissioner will be holding meetings with the Ministers of Finance and Tourism, the Seychelles Investment Board and the Seychelles Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Panayiotou said that the relationship between the two countries is historically excellent and dates back to the time of the exile of the first President of Cyprus Archbishop Makarios. (Joena Meme) Photo License: CC-BY

Panayiotou said that the two countries will be signing two agreements.

“One is about cooperation between the two chambers of commerce and the other one is between the port authorities of the two countries,” said the ambassador.

He added that Seychelles and Cyprus will discuss two further agreements in the field of investment and health.

Panayiotou said that the relationship between the two countries is historically excellent and dates back to the time of the exile of the first President of Cyprus Archbishop Makarios.

Makarios was deported to Seychelles, an archipelago in the western Indian Ocean, by the British authorities in March 1956 for his involvement in the country’s fight for freedom. He was released a year later and upon his return to Cyprus, he was elected as the first president in 1959.

“We have the two countries supporting each other within international organisations. With Cyprus being part of the European Union, Seychelles has a very good friend for whatever they need in the European Union. This is what I told the President,” said Panayiotou.

The ambassador was accredited in 2016 and is based in Muscat, Oman.