Secretary Locsin Receives Ambassadors Ahead of Presentation of Credentials
Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin Jr. receives Swiss Ambassador Alain Gaschen at the Department of Foreign Affairs. (DFA-OSCR photo by Nilo Palaya)
Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin Jr. receives German Ambassador Anke Reiffenstuel at the Department of Foreign Affairs. (DFA-OSCR photo by Nilo Palaya)
Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin, Jr. (left) with Georgian Non-Resident Ambassador to the Philippines Irakli Asashvili (right). (DFA-OSCR photo by Nilo Palaya)
MANILA 30 August 2019 — Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin Jr. received Swiss Ambassador to the Philippines Alain Gaschen, German Ambassador to the Philippines Anke Reiffenstuel and non-resident Georgian Ambassador to the Philippines Irakli Asashvili in a courtesy call held at the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on 19 August 2019.
The envoys presented their credentials to President Rodrigo Duterte the next day.
Ambassador Gaschen, noting that the Philippines is his first post as Ambassador, was welcomed by Secretary Locsin, and thanked him for for Switzerland’s role in the Bangsamoro Peace Process, particularly in chairing the Transitional Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC), as well as Switzerland’s commitment to support ASEAN community building and promotion of peace in the region.
The Secretary further noted Switzerland’s offer of assistance to Philippine MSMEs to export more products to Switzerland and other European Free Trade Association (EFTA) states through projects aimed at trade capacity building and meeting international quality standards requirements.
For his part, Ambassador Gaschen thanked Secretary Locsin for the warm welcome and expressed his commitment to work with DFA in enhancing bilateral cooperation in mutually beneficial areas, noting the potential to further deepen the relations.
Secretary Locsin welcomed Ambassador Reiffenstuel and hoped that she would have a productive, memorable and enjoyable stay in the country. The Secretary cited the excellent progress made in the economic relations between the Philippines and Germany, adding that bilateral trade has been on the upswing for the last several years.
For her part, Ambassador Reiffenstuel thanked the Secretary for the warm welcome she received. She underlined the strong partnership between the two countries, and noted the Philippines’ importance in supplying the immense need for nurses and healthcare workers in Germany.
Having headed the ALNAP Division of Humanitarian Assistance for three years prior to her assignment to the Philippines, the Ambassador noted the Philippines’ mechanisms and preparedness for natural disasters, and looked forward to further cooperation in environment, renewable energy and disaster preparedness.
Meanwhile, Secretary Locsin and Ambassador Asashvili discussed on how to further relations between the Philippines and Georgia in various areas of cooperation, especially in the field of trade and investment, culture and people-to-people exchanges.
Secretary Locsin remarked that the people-to-people ties between the Philippines and Georgia are increasing as Filipinos based in the Gulf countries have found in Georgia a good place for tourism as well as for the education of their children.
Ambassador Asashvili noted the good political relations between the Philippines and Georgia and expressed openness to improve trade and economic relations, despite the geographical distance between the two countries.
The Philippines and Georgia have maintained cordial relations since the establishment of diplomatic relations on 21 September 1992. This year marks the 27th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. The Georgian Embassy with jurisdiction over the Philippines is based in Jakarta, Indonesia. END