24 June 2015 - The Philippine Embassy in Pretoria welcomed the diplomatic community, officers of the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO), top South African businessmen, members of South Africa’s academe, political and economic commentators and practitioners, South African government officials and other friends of the Embassy at the official residence on June 12 to celebrate the 117th Anniversary of the Proclamation of Philippine independence. South Africa’s Minister of Public Works Thembelani Thulas Nxesi was the celebration’s guest of honor.
Minister Nxesi congratulated and commended the Philippines’ robust and consistent economic growth in the face of the on-going challenges facing the global economy and expressed his optimism that trade between the Philippines and South Africa will continue to grow.
In his speech, Philippine Ambassador to South Africa Joseph Gerard B. Angeles spoke of the great strides the Philippines has achieved in advancing inclusive growth under the government’s mantra of “Good governance is good economics.” He stated that as the Philippines celebrates its 117th year of nationhood, now is the time for the country to share its gains with the international community.
Ambassador Angeles also remarked how the friendship between the Philippines and South Africa has grown through the years and how closer people-to-people exchanges have led both countries into greater cooperation. Since 2013, the Philippines and South Africa have engaged in a yearly consultation mechanism to discuss and implement activities to further enhance cooperation in the areas of trade, merchant shipping, agriculture, tourism and in the multilateral fora. The annual consultation mechanism has yielded concrete and substantial results for both sides, such as the signing of a memorandum for the further implementation of the bilateral air services agreement last August 2014, the on-going negotiations for cooperation agreements in the field of merchant shipping and for the waiver of visa requirements for holders of diplomatic passports, and the South African trade mission to the Philippines last May 2015.
The Embassy also emphasized the importance of the developments in the West Philippine Sea, particularly the Philippines’ call for adherence to an international rule of law. The call was more particularly underscored with one-on-one exchanges between Embassy officers and political and military practitioners, which included providing them with publications on the West Philippine Sea issue.
South Africa’s DIRCO 56 was represented by Deputy Director-General for Asia and the Middle East Dr. Anil Sooklal, Director for Southeast Asia Mrs. Deborah Balatseng, DIRCO desk officer for the Philippines Ms. Pooveshnee P. Reddy, and several members of the Trade Mission that recently visited the Philippines. END