Seychelles News In Brief

ARGENTINA’S NAVAL FRIGATE, LIBERTAD ARRIVES IN PORT VICTORIA

 ONE of the world’s tallest, faster and most beautiful sailing ships, the Argentina’s naval frigate, Libertad arrived in Port Victoria during the weekend 24th-25th May, 2008 for a goodwill visit that coincided with the country’s National Day on Sunday 25th May. Since the Libertad’s maiden voyage, she has traveled more than 80,000 nautical miles and visited 513 ports in 69 countries. She has taken part in several races for tall ships, winning the Boston Tea Port Trophy nine times and in 1966 set the world record for a transatlantic crossing between Canada and Ireland, sailing 2,059 nautical miles in 8½ days.
Under the command of Captain Juan José Iglesias, the Libertad has 310 men and women onboard. The ship’s main mission is to complete the education of cadets from Argentina’s naval school. She also represents her country as a goodwill ambassador carrying displays of Argentinian culture onboard.

NEW CHINESE AMBASSADOR AND CANADIAN HIGH COMMISSIONER  PRESENT CREDENTIALS

THE new Chinese Ambassador and the new Canadian High Commissioner have both presented their letters of accreditation to President James A. Michel at State House. The new Chinese Ambassador, Mr Wang Weiguo described the Seychelles as beautiful, peaceful and quiet and said he is very happy to be here. He is looking forward to developing cooperation between the two countries which is described as very good, pointing to many areas where China has invested.
Mr Wieguo, who is the 11th Chinese Ambassador to be accredited since Seychelles and the People’s Republic of China established diplomatic relations in 1976, replaces Mr Geng Wenbing, who served as Ambassador from 2005 to 2008.
The Canadian High Commissioner, Mrs Janet Siddall said her meeting with President had also been an opportunity to discuss ways of exploring new areas of cooperation and she hopes that Canada and Seychelles will work together on issues such as democracy, rule of law, economic governance and the environment.

AIR SEYCHELLES RENEWS ITS SUPPORT FOR THE 2008 CREOLE FESTIVAL

AIR Seychelles has renewed its support for the Creole Festival to take place this year from October 24th-31st by sponsoring ten air tickets valued at R50,000 to fly in artists from other Creole-speaking countries.
The sponsorship agreement was signed between Air Sey-chelles Chairman, Captain David Savy, and the Chairman of the festival’s organizing committee, Minister Vincent Meriton, in a ceremony at the Creole Spirit Building.
Launched twenty-three years ago as an annual event to promote the Creole culture and identity of our Creole Nation, the festival has had Air Seychelles as a keen supporter from the outset.

BOTANICAL GARDEN WINS VISITOR ACCOLADE

 SEYCHELLES’ National Botanical Garden has been named in the world’s top 10 for a visit. The accolade is awarded by Reuters’ Travel and Leisure magazine, which is designed to appeal to travelers with a great interest in horticulture.
Ranked 7th, the garden at Mont Fleuri is one of only two from the African region to feature in the ten most appealing botanical attractions worldwide.

TWO NEW PLANES TO MPROVE DOMESTIC SERVICE

TWO new Chinese-made light aircraft are set to boost the inter-island service in Seychelles.
The planes are due to arrive here in October, will be bought using a loan from the Export-Bank of China after Finance Minister Danny Faure signed an agreement in Bejing with the Bank’s Vice President, Li Jun.
The Y-12E aircraft is produced by China National Aero-Technology-CATIC, a partner of Boeing and Airbus Industries, and Seychelles will get two of the latest model of this light multipurpose plane, designed 25 years ago.

MISS SEYCHELLES PAGEANT ETS FOR AUGUST

THE event to crown Miss Seychelles 2008 will take place on 30th August, the organizers have announced.
According to the chairperson of the Miss Seychelles Islands Beauty Pageant (MSIBP), Susie Pierre, the pageant this year will again be held under the umbrella of Spice Entertainment (Pty) Ltd, the entertainment company holding the rights to the event. She says the organizing committee will work closely with the Seychelles Tourism Board (STB) and the local tourism industry as their aim is to promote Seychelles as a unique tourism destination to the outside world.