US reopens embassy in Seychelles after 27-year absence – Times of India

WASHINGTON: The United States has reopened its embassy in the Seychelles after a 27-year absence during which China and other US rivals made significant inroads in the Indian Ocean islands.
The US State Department announced the move late on Thursday, after having unveiled plans to open a diplomatic mission in northern Norway, which will be its only only such facility above the Arctic Circle.
The Seychelles embassy is part of a push to counter China’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific.
The US is already constructing an embassy in the Maldives and has opened or announced plans to open embassies in the Pacific, including in the Solomon Islands, Tonga and Kiribati.
The US Embassy in the Seychelles capital of Victoria was shuttered in 1996 as part of cost-saving measures after the end of the Cold War.
American interests in the 115-island archipelago about 1,500 kilometres (800 miles) east of mainland Africa had been handled by diplomats based in Mauritius.
“The time is right to elevate the relationship so that together we can better address shared challenges and take advantage of mutually beneficial opportunities,” US secretary of state Antony Blinken said in a statement.
He said that the US would focus its efforts there on economic development, climate change, maritime security and combating transnational crime and corruption.
“Our joint pursuit of peace, democracy, and prosperity will be a beacon across Africa and the Indian Ocean region,” Blinken said.

function loadGtagEvents(isGoogleCampaignActive) { if (!isGoogleCampaignActive) { return; } var id = document.getElementById('toi-plus-google-campaign'); if (id) { return; } (function(f, b, e, v, n, t, s) { t = b.createElement(e); t.async = !0; t.defer = !0; t.src = v; t.id = 'toi-plus-google-campaign'; s = b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(t, s); })(f, b, e, 'https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=AW-877820074', n, t, s); };

window.TimesApps = window.TimesApps || {}; var TimesApps = window.TimesApps; TimesApps.toiPlusEvents = function(config) { var isConfigAvailable = "toiplus_site_settings" in f && "isFBCampaignActive" in f.toiplus_site_settings && "isGoogleCampaignActive" in f.toiplus_site_settings; var isPrimeUser = window.isPrime; if (isConfigAvailable && !isPrimeUser) { loadGtagEvents(f.toiplus_site_settings.isGoogleCampaignActive); loadFBEvents(f.toiplus_site_settings.isFBCampaignActive); } else { var JarvisUrl="https://jarvis.indiatimes.com/v1/feeds/toi_plus/site_settings/643526e21443833f0c454615?db_env=published"; window.getFromClient(JarvisUrl, function(config){ if (config) { loadGtagEvents(config?.isGoogleCampaignActive); loadFBEvents(config?.isFBCampaignActive); } }) } }; })( window, document, 'script', );

For all the latest world News Click Here 

Read original article here

Denial of responsibility! TechAI is an automatic aggregator around the global media. All the content are available free on Internet. We have just arranged it in one platform for educational purpose only. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, all materials to their authors. If you are the owner of the content and do not want us to publish your materials on our website, please contact us by email – [email protected]. The content will be deleted within 24 hours.