Gibraltar signs affiliation agreement with HMS Stirling Castle

Gibraltar has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with HMS Stirling Castle, formalising the Rock’s affiliation with the Royal Navy vessel.

The agreement was signed by the Mayor of Gibraltar, Nicholas Guerrero, on behalf of the people of Gibraltar, and the Commanding Officer of HMS Stirling Castle, Phil Harper.

The MoU was signed on the vessel’s bridge in the presence of Chief Minister Fabian Picardo and the Governor, Lieutenant General Sir Ben Bathurst.

It is the first agreement of its kind and outlines that each organisation will offer assistance to the other, while recognising and promoting each other’s strengths and expertise for mutual benefit.

Mr Guerrero said: “I’m honoured to sign this MoU on behalf of Gibraltar with HMS Stirling Castle, which formalises the lasting friendship between our Rock and the vessel.”

Mr Picardo said: “This Memorandum of Understanding represents and formalises many years of Gibraltar’s affiliation with HMS Stirling Castle, as with the wider Royal Navy. It is fitting that the first agreement of this kind is with the namesake of the vessel that repatriated so many of Gibraltar’s evacuees from the United Kingdom after the war, the RMMV Stirling Castle. Gibraltar is proud to be a home-from-home to the Stirling Castle and to the UK Armed Forces.”