BoC chief meets Seychelles President

Chairman of the Bank of Ceylon, Dr. Gamini Wickramasinghe met the Seychelles President James Michel at State House in Seychelles recently. The meeting follows the President’s state visit to Sri Lanka in August this year, where discussions were held to strengthen economic cooperation between the two countries.

During the visit, the government pledged to extend a credit line to the Seychelles for trade and commercial transactions with Sri Lanka, particularly in boat-building ventures. It was also agreed that Seychelles and Sri Lanka will share expertise in the fisheries sector.

Dr. Gamini Wickramasinghe said that during his visit to Seychelles, the Bank of Ceylon will consider how it can assist Seychelles in the fisheries and tourism industries. He will be meet officials from the government to discuss the terms of the line of credit. Wickramasinghe also said that he will consider the feasibility of potential for the bank’s operations in the Seychelles. This proposal had been mooted by President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who had said that the government would explore the possibility of opening a Bank of Ceylon branch in the Seychelles.

“We could exploit the potential and the bank could join in the country’s development efforts. I think we can mutually benefit from this,” said Dr. Wickramasinghe.During his visit to Sri Lanka, President James Michel had stressed the importance of building a “circle of friendship” in the Indian Ocean. As part of these efforts, the government is actively engaging with regional partners to improve the cost of trade within the region to combat the rising cost-of-living across the globe. By linking with the emerging economies of the region,

Seychelles can widen its base from which it sources affordable and good quality food products and other important products for economic development.During their visit, the representatives of Bank of Ceylon will meet officials of government ministries, other banks and the private sector.Other senior officials from Sri Lanka will visit the Seychelles for further discussions on cooperation in fisheries, business development, and education, in the near future.