The President of the Republic of Seychelles, Mr Wavel Ramkalawan welcomed the Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the Republic of Seychelles, H.E Mr. Artyom Kozhin for a courtesy call at State House yesterday morning. Also present for the meeting was the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Tourism, Mr Sylvestre Radegonde and Russian Embassy First Secretary, Mr. Maxim Matasov.  

Amongst the areas of discussion, the Ambassador H.E Mr. Kozhin announced the donation of 500 Thousand US Dollars by the Russian business community towards the COVID-19 Relief Fund, an initiative of President Ramkalawan launched on 10th January 2021, in order to sustain the implementation of the Country's National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme.  

On behalf of Government and the people of Seychelles, President Ramkalawan personally expressed his deep appreciation to the Russian business community for the generous donation to the COVID-19 Relief Fund. During the dialogue, Ambassador H.E Mr. Kozhin also confirmed that discussions are in progress for a potential donation of the Sputnik V Vaccine for a trial run in Seychelles.  

"Seychelles and Russia have enjoyed a longstanding friendship, we remain committed to rally our efforts to achieve our set goals and elevate our relations to new heights for the mutual benefit of both our nations. I look forward to the continued active exchanges between our countries across bilateral, multilateral and global platforms," said President Ramkalawan.   

Other areas of discussion centered on other important domains of collaboration such as Education, Capacity Building and Specialised training for Seychellois nationals, Tourism and Air Connectivity, Investment and Trade as well as expansion of cooperation in the Fisheries sector.  

Ambassador Kozhin is based in Seychelles and was accredited on 10th March 2020. Seychelles and Russia established diplomatic relations on 29th June 1976.