DFA Secretary Enrique A. Manalo to Embark on Working Visit to Canada

PASAY 03 May 2024 - Secretary for Foreign Affairs Enrique A. Manalo will undertake a working visit to Vancouver, Ottawa, and Toronto, Canada from 6 to 10 May 2024, to further enhance PH-Canada bilateral ties on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of Philippine-Canada diplomatic relations. 

The Secretary is scheduled to deliver a Foreign Policy Address at the Asia Pacific Foundation in Vancouver and hold bilateral meetings with four Canadian Cabinet Ministers of Global Affairs Canada, namely: Mélanie Joly,  Minister for Foreign Affairs; Mary Ng, Minister of Export Promotion, International Trade and Economic Development; Ahmed Hussen, Minister of International Development; and Marc Miller, Minister of Immigration. Secretary Manalo will also engage with members of the Canada-Philippines Inter-Parliamentary Friendship Group. 

In all these engagements, Secretary Manalo will discuss matters of mutual interest and concerns, as in the areas of defense cooperation, establishing linkages in cybersecurity and combating cybercrime, maritime cooperation and upholding a rules-based international order in the Indo-Pacific, enhancing trade, investments, development and technical cooperation in the areas of food, energy and minerals exploration, and cooperation in the UN and other multilateral fora in global issues such as climate change, women and other vulnerable groups, and cybersecurity. People-to-people linkages will also be at the core of Secretary Manalo’s visit, including issues relating to credentials recognition and education. 

The Secretary’s travel to Canada follows Canadian Foreign Minister Joly’s visit to the Philippines on 19 May 2023 as well as the successul 6th meeting of the Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC) held in Ottawa on 12 October 2023. END