(Seychelles News Agency) - Palestine has expertise in the medical and agricultural fields that can be made available to Seychelles, the new Palestinian ambassador to the Indian Ocean archipelago said Tuesday.

Ambassador Hazem M. Shabat presented his credentials to Seychelles President James Michel at State House, in the capital, Victoria.

“We tend to consider that human capacity is our natural resource. We have experts in almost every field possible, from doctors, engineers, agriculture,” Shabat told a news conference.

“We are ready to put all our expertise at the disposal of the government of Seychelles should it decide to seek our assistance,” he added.

Historically, Seychelles and Palestine have enjoyed good relations. Diplomatic ties between the two states was established in 1980. Seychelles also supported Palestine’s non-member observer status when the issue was voted on at the UN in 2012.

Shabat is the fifth Palestinian ambassador to be accredited to the 115-island archipelago in the western Indian Ocean. Further developing friendly and fraternal relations between the two sides was among issues he discussed during talks with President Michel.

“I conveyed [to President Michel] the appreciation of President Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian leadership for the positions adopted by Seychelles over the past years in support of the Palestinian cause. We highly value these positions.”

Ambassador Hazem M. Shabat is based in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.