The visit of the President of the Republic of Seychelles, James Alix Michel, to the Order of Malta took place in an atmosphere of great cordiality.

Received in the Magistral Palace by Jean-Pierre Mazery, Grand Chancellor of the Order, the President highlighted the cooperation, friendship and aid that the Sovereign Order had offered his country.

The talks focused on the Order’s technical-scientific contribution to the project for the vocational training of Seychellois nurses, which President Michel intends to launch within the framework of the social programmes of this Indian Ocean archipelago.

The Order of Malta, in its almost fifteen years of activity in the Republic of Seychelles has, through its embassy, contributed to the country’s social and medical development by constructing an entire pavilion in the hospital in Victoria, the republic’s capital. This hospital also obtained a haemodialysis unit with the Order’s decisive contribution, as well as equipment for the Occupational Therapy and Rehabilitation Unit of the Children’s Ward. Important support was also given to the Ecole Exceptionelle for disabled children and orphans, through the archdiocese.

After the tsunami of December 2004, the Order of Malta helped to reconstruct the damaged areas and provide relief for those involved.

Also participating in the meeting were Alain Butler-Payette, Secretary of State of Seychelles, Graziano Triboldi, former Consul General of Seychelles in Italy and Antonio Benedetto Spada, the Order’s Ambassador to Seychelles.