October 29, 2026

In March 2020, Seychelles accomplished what many larger nations have still not managed: We placed 30 percent of our national waters under formal legal protection, an expanse of ocean larger than Germany. We did this not because we could afford it, but because we couldn't afford not to.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Seychelles and China, which began in June 1976, just one day after our independence. I want to use this occasion to tell a story of transformation: how a nation of roughly 120,000 people, spread across 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, has turned fragility into opportunity and leverage, and why this lesson matters to the world.

From the first settlers in 1770 to the Seychellois of today, the sea has been a constant presence in our lives, feeding us, employing us and shaping our identity. Our dependence is evident in the tuna we catch and export, the tourists who dive in our reefs and the fact that almost everything we consume arrives by ship.

Read more:

https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202610/29/WS6ae2a435e4b06d4aa0565ce1.html