July 15, 2024 (Quezon City) – H.E. Marie Fontanel, French Ambassador to the  Philippines, rendered a courtesy call on Secretary of National Defense (SND) Gilberto  C. Teodoro, Jr. on July 11, 2024, and introduced Captain Stéphan Litzler, the newly  designated defense attaché of France in Manila. 

France’s assignment of a resident defense attaché to the Philippines comes after the  brief yet historic visit to the country of French Minister for the Armed Forces Sébastien  Lecornu in December 2023. During the said visit, the Philippine and French defense  ministers committed to strengthening the two countries’ bilateral defense relationship  with the signing of a Letter of Intent (Lol). 

Pursuant to the Lol, Ambassador Fontanel raised the forthcoming visit of a group of  French Air and Space Force aircraft in the Philippines, a first in the history of  Philippine-France defense relations. During the stopover, bilateral activities are  expected to help build the foundations of air-to-air cooperation between the two  countries. 

Secretary Teodoro and Ambassador Fontanel also touched on the latest incidents in  the West Philippine Sea (WPS), where the Philippines continues to work on de escalating tensions. Relatedly, Secretary Teodoro highlighted the importance of  holistic and long-term defense cooperation or partnerships in supporting overall efforts  to build the Philippines’ credible deterrence. 

Other matters the two officials discussed include the promising potential of nuclear  energy cooperation, developing closer ties with Pacific Island Countries, the upcoming  Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (APMCDRR) in  October 2024 in Manila, and the United Nations (UN) Ocean Conference in June 2025  in France. 

Joining Ambassador Fontanel and Captain Litzler during the call were Mr. Rémy  Tirouttouvarayane, Deputy Head of Mission, and Colonel Michel Midon, French  Armaments Attaché at the French Embassy in Manila. 

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