Silva

Spanish Ambassador Jesús Silva yesterday said the state visit of the king and queen of Spain is still on.

King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sophia will likely travel to Jamaica in February next year.

They were initially expected to visit between December 2 and 4 but, according to the diplomat, this was postponed as it was too close to the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Spanish constitution to be held in that country's capital, Madrid, on December 6.

"This celebration is a milestone because it is the constitution that has lasted the longest in the history of Spain," noted Silva. "The schedule would have been too hectic for the king and queen to leave Jamaica on December 4 to get to Madrid for the celebrations."

"Instead of cutting the trip short, we decided to change the date to February 17-19, 2009, and we are awaiting confirmation from the Jamaican Government," explained the ambassador.

Silva, who has been his country's representative in Jamaica for more than two years, said he did not believe recent developments regarding stolen sand would discourage further Spanish investment here.

"The diplomatic relations between Jamaica and Spain are very good, very buoyant and we have a close relationship with the Government because the two countries have many things in common," he told The Gleaner yesterday. "There are many programmes taking place in Jamaica related to Spain, and Spain has become one of the most important economic partners to Jamaica, so we have absolutely nothing that should be affected by that."