(Seychelles News Agency) - China has long understood the Seychelles’ unique character and the complex challenges that face Small Island States, the President of Seychelles said Tuesday at the 2018 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).

President Danny Faure addressed the leaders present at the Roundtable Meeting on the final day of the summit in China, State House said on Tuesday.

“For Seychelles, as a Small Island Developing State, we are very pleased to note the inclusion in the Action Plan of financing and enhanced collaboration in fields such as the Blue Economy, green development plans, and climate change, amongst others. We are very happy that the Beijing Action Plan 2019-21 reflects sustainable development strategies for the ocean state,” said Faure.

The head of state of Seychelles, an archipelago in the western Indian Ocean, conveyed to fellow leaders at the summit how the island nation started the year by pioneering a Blue Economy Strategic Policy Framework and Roadmap. This represents the next frontier of development for the country.

Faure added that “the announcement made by President Xi on Monday demonstrates his commitment to tackling the development challenges of our time, exemplified by China’s pledge of 60 billion US Dollars to Africa for the implementation of the FOCAC Beijing Action Plan over the next 3 years.”

Both the Beijing Declaration -- ‘Toward an Even Stronger China-Africa Community with a Shared Future’ and the FOCAC Beijing Action Plan (2019-21) -- were adopted at the end of the summit.

Since its inception in 2000, FOCAC, which normally takes place every three years, has become the main mechanism that coordinates bilateral cooperation and funding for projects between China and African countries.

At this year’s summit over 50 Heads of States from African countries joined the Chinese President Xi Jinping, the Secretary-General of the United Nations General Assembly, António Guterres, and the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat.