(Seychelles News Agency) - The President of Seychelles, Wavel Ramkalawan, is heading for Tunis on Thursday to attend the eighth meeting of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 8), taking place from August 27- 28.

According to a press statement from State House, President Ramkalawan will join the gathering of “high-level delegations from African countries, Japan as well as other organisations such as the African Development Bank, the African Union, World Trade Organisation, and other UN agencies” to discuss issues related to the COVID-19
recovery, Africa’s economic growth, realising sustainable societies and peace and stability.

Japan has long-standing and good relations with Seychelles and has assisted the country, an archipelago in the western Indian Ocean, with several projects especially in the fisheries sector, the second top contributor to the island nation's economy.

The government of Japan financed the construction of facilities to cater to increased artisanal and semi-industrial fishing activities through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) with a grant of around $12 million.

Japan also assisted Seychelles in setting up a school for children with hearing impairment in April last year. This was done through a Japanese grant of $76,000 (SCR1 million) for grassroots human security projects.

In June, Japan announced it would provide Seychelles with maritime police with vessels to conducts its work at sea and also the building to host the unit.