The Spanish ambassador to Guyana said he hopes the new embassy located in Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) will help foster closer relations with Caricom and Guyana.
According to a Government Information Agency (GINA) press release Ambassador Guyana Fernando de le Serna made this disclosure when he presented his credentials to President Bharrat Jagdeo at the Office of the President recently. The ambassador said previously Spain only had one permanent mission in the region which was located in Jamaica.
De le Serna said he hopes cooperation between his country and Guyana will be enhanced with the second embassy established in closer jurisdiction to Guyana. The ambassador said there have already been three meetings between Spain and Caricom at the level of the Heads of Government, held in 1999, 2002 and 2006, aimed at facilitating cooperation. He then invited Jagdeo to attend another such meeting that will involve Caricom heads and Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero.
The ambassador said the meeting “is in the context of our increasing interest in Caricom,” adding that his country has a cooperation agreement with Caricom through which it hopes to start a project at the national level, in Guyana. According to GINA, “Spain will be focusing on development projects in the areas of training, food and agriculture, health, tourism and industry.”
De le Serna said the project will start next year. Spain is also interested in promoting Spanish at the university level. Meanwhile, de le Serna acknowledged that much more needed to be done to enhance the cooperation and committed to doing so during his tenure.
De le Serna holds a law degree from the University of Madrid. He has served as ambassador to a number of other Caricom territories including Jamaica, the Bahamas, Antigua and Barbuda, St Lucia, Dominica and Grenada. He will be based in T&T.
