(Seychelles News Agency) - The African Development Bank (AfDB) is working on a financial facility to support Seychelles in its COVID-19 recovery programme, said a top official of the bank.

The executive director of AfDB, Cheptoo Amos Kipronoh, made this statement after a courtesy call on President Wavel Ramkalawan at State House on Wednesday.

"The facility will try and help Seychelles fully in the recuperation of its economy. I am seeing that the recovery process is going very well and the country has been able to vaccinate 60 percent of its population," said Amos Kipronoh.

"We are also seeing that the hotel businesses are also recovering and the bed occupancy is now very high. So we are working closely with the government to ensure a strong recovery process so that the economy becomes more resilient," he added.

Tourism which is the top pillar of Seychelles’ economy has been greatly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic as a drop in tourists arrival halted the operations of many businesses.

Amos Kipronoh’s meeting with President Ramkalawan was also organised to give an update on the current relationship between AfDB and Seychelles, a group of 115 islands in the western Indian Ocean.

"I have had extensive discussions with the Ministry of Finance and it has given assurance that the relationship between the bank and Seychelles is very strong and would remain that way," added the AfDB executive director.

Last year, Seychelles received a loan of $10 million from (AfDB) to support the government's COVID-19 response programme. The loan is being used for macroeconomic stabilisation, strengthening the national health responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as safeguarding livelihoods and social safety nets of the island nation.

The crisis response programme is aligned with ADB's 10-year strategy and its five areas of high priorities, specifically to improve the quality of life of people in Africa.

As part of his mission in Seychelles, Amos Kipronoh will also visit projects that have been funded by the bank and ministries that have benefited from resources and other forms of support from the bank.

In April and May last year, Seychelles was also assisted by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund in the form of a line of credit and emergency assistance totalling $38 million.