President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. welcomed to Malacañang on Thursday the non-resident ambassadors of Kenya, Cyprus, the Republic of Guinea, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Slovak Republic, Uruguay, Equatorial Guinea, and Nicaragua.
Among those welcomed by the President were Kenyan Ambassador Galma Mukhe Boru, Ambassador Nicholas Panayiotou of Cyprus, Moussa Fanta Camara of Guinea, John S. Fritz of Federated States of Micronesia, Tomáš Ferko of Slovak Republic, Cristina González of Uruguay, Mauricio Mauro Epkua Obama Bindang of Guinea, and Mario José Armengol Campos of Nicaragua.
As the President received the letters of credence of the newly designated foreign officials, he expressed his enthusiasm for working with the governments they represent to strengthen the relations and partnerships with the Philippines in various areas.
These areas of cooperation include economic and trade collaboration, renewable energy, agriculture, technology, defense, climate change mitigation, people-to-people ties, adherence to multilateral world order, and rule of law.
In welcoming the ambassador of Cyprus, the President said, “As you have noted, we have many areas that we can explore. There are many opportunities that we can explore [such as] people-to-people relationship… future interactions and partnership.”
“We look forward to strengthening of relationships and in the hope that perhaps together we can face these problems that climate change is [posing],” he said.
He also thanked Ambassador Panayiotou for sympathizing with victims of Severe Tropical Storm Kristine, which recently impacted the Philippines.
Ambassador Panayiotou conveyed his belief that the two nations can achieve even more through cooperation in areas such as economy and investments, people-to-people exchanges, maritime affairs, and research and innovation.
The President appreciated the Ambassador of the Slovak Republic, noting his pleasure on Slovak Republic’s intention to strengthen relations with the Philippines despite the physical distance between the two countries.
Ambassador Ferko pointed out that recent trade figures indicate encouraging signs of growth, and that despite geographical distance, there is strong potential for deeper cooperation on military equipment, and water management.
Uruguay Ambassador González emphasized her mission to fully develop trade relations, considering the complementary nature of the two nations’ economies. She aims to foster bilateral cooperation, particularly in areas of mutual interest, including food security, climate change efforts, sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, and other fields to build better people-to-people ties.
The Philippines and Uruguay will celebrate 50 years of diplomatic relations next year.
“Uruguay is ready to be partner of the Philippines and I am looking forward to further contribute to strengthen our bilateral relations and maybe in receiving you in Uruguay in the near future,” she told the President.
In his meeting with Ambassador Boru of Kenya, President Marcos expressed gratitude for Kenya’s condolences for the victims of typhoons in the Philippines.
On the prospect of future collaboration between the Philippines and Kenya, he remarked, “there’s very, very large possibility. Many, many areas of possible exploration, which we have not had the chance to do in the past.”
“And I look forward to developing those closer ties that will bring advantage to both our countries,” he added. | PND
