(Seychelles News Agency) - The outgoing US ambassador to the Seychelles, H. E Mrs. Shari Villarosa, said on Tuesday that she is very optimistic about the future of the young people of Seychelles.

Villarosa bid farewell to Seychelles’ President Michel at State House, where she told a news conference that the U.S. is in the process of selecting more Seychellois for the Young African Leaders programme, an initiative by US President Barack Obama to create more African entrepreneurs.

“I am very optimistic about the future of Seychelles based on the young people,” said Villarosa.

Villarosa was based in Mauritius and was ambassador to both the Seychelles and Mauritius for more than three years. She described the experience of being an ambassador to two island nations as being an incredible experience.

“I absolutely love the Seychellois people,” Villaross said. “I wanted to increase our visibility so that the Seychellois people felt that they had a US ambassador and a US Embassy that was generally interested in working with them.”

Villarosa said she and Michel discussed corporation and development opportunities between the United States and the Seychelles, a nation of 115 islands in the western Indian Ocean.

Michel thanked Villarosa for her hard work and expressed gratitude to the US government for the funding and contribution provided to the development of civil society projects in Seychelles. He said the two countries enjoy a strong friendship and are committed to many global issues like climate change, democracy and sustainable development of the ocean.

“We thank the US for the various assistance that Seychelles is receiving in the fields of maritime security, environment and biodiversity, learning and development and capacity building through the Young African Leaders Initiative,” said Michel.