The full complement of a diplomatic delegation from Spain has arrived in Seychelles to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Spanish-Seychellois ties in the fishing industry.

Members of the delegation, including newly appointed Spanish ambassador to Seychelles, Rafael Dezcallar de Mazarredo, began arriving in the country this week.

The delegation is headed by the secretary general for marine fisheries with the Spanish ministry, Carmen Fraga Estevez, and also includes Isabel Guyatt Montojo, who was involved in negotiations twenty years ago when fishing ties between Spain and Seychelles were first established.

The delegation is scheduled to pay a courtesy call today on Minister for Agriculture and Marine Resources William Herminie.  A visit to the Victoria fishing port has also been planned, followed by a cocktail and dinner for the delegates at the Ste Anne Resort, organised in collaboration with the Seychelles Fishing Authority.

The delegation will leave on Saturday October 25.

Fishing cooperation between the two countries dates back to October 28, 1983, when Angel Mazarambroz, the current Spanish ambassador to South Africa, and the late Mrs Danielle de St Jorre, then the principal secretary for Planning and Foreign Relations, signed an agreement on fisheries development on behalf of Spain and Seychelles, respectively.

The agreement allowed Spanish ships to fish, especially for tuna, in the Seychelles exclusive economic zone (EEZ) on favourable terms.  Victoria's fishing port is considered to be one of the preferential ports of transhipment for the Spanish fleet in the Western Indian Ocean.

Currently Seychelles hosts 29 Spanish fishing vessels in its EEZ.

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