Congratulations sent to Seychelles' president-elect

President Xi Jinping has congratulated Patrick Herminie on his election as president of Seychelles, pledging to work with the president-elect to promote bilateral ties.

In a congratulatory message sent to Herminie on Wednesday, Xi highlighted the traditional friendship between China and Seychelles. Both countries have supported each other on issues concerning their core interests and major concerns and achieved fruitful results in their cooperation in areas such as infrastructure and green development, he said.

Noting that next year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Seychelles, Xi said that he attaches great importance to the development of the two countries' relations.

Xi expressed his willingness to work with Herminie to take the implementation of the outcomes of the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation as an opportunity to elevate the strategic partnership between the two countries to new heights and better benefit the two peoples.

Herminie, 62, who served as the speaker of the National Assembly of Seychelles from 2007 to 2016, was officially elected as the president of Seychelles on Sunday, Xinhua News Agency reported.

As candidate of the largest opposition party in Seychelles, the United Seychelles, Herminie won the presidential election by garnering 52.7 percent of the valid votes, while incumbent President Wavel Ramkalawan of the Seychellois Democratic Alliance received 47.3 percent in the runoff, according to official results released on Sunday by the country's electoral commission.