Philippines and Colombia Hold Sixth Bilateral Consultation Meeting in Manila

(Photo credits to DFA-OPD James Ryan Artiaga)

MANILA 19 August 2024 – The Philippines and Colombia held their sixth Bilateral Consultation Meeting (BCM) in Manila on 14 August 2024.

The BCM is an important platform held on a regular basis to discuss issues of common concern, explore ways to enhance existing cooperation, as well as to chart the course for future engagements. 

DFA Undersecretary for Bilateral Relations and ASEAN Affairs, Ma. Theresa P. Lazaro, together with her Colombian counterpart, Vice Foreign Minister Jorge Rojas Rodriguez, co-chaired and led their respective delegations to the meeting. 

The two sides held comprehensive discussions on an agenda that touched on bilateral cooperation in the peace process, trade relations, regional and global developments, tourism, and cooperation in the maritime sphere.

This year’s BCM is made more significant as the Philippines prepares to open the Philippine Embassy in Bogota. Upon its opening, it will be the fifth Philippine Embassy in Latin America, and only the second ASEAN Embassy in Colombia, after Indonesia. The DFA team that will establish the Embassy is currently en route to Bogota. The Embassy is targeted to officially open this year, with the eventual arrival of the first Philippine Ambassador to Colombia.

During the meeting, Undersecretary Lazaro remarked that the opening of the Embassy is a clear signal of the Philippines’ commitment to enhance relations with Latin America.

Cooperation in the peace process is a cornerstone of relations between the Philippines and Colombia, and was an important focus of discussion during the BCM. In recent years, both sides have increased exchanges of delegations and engagements through various projects. Secretary Carlito Galvez, of the Office of the Presidential Adviser for Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU), has called the Philippines’ cooperation with Colombia on this matter a model worthy of emulation, as far as the peace process is concerned.

The two sides also discussed developments in the Philippines and Colombia’s respective regions, underscoring the importance of multilateralism in maintaining global stability and working towards prosperity. 

At the conclusion of the BCM, the two Vice Ministers symbolically exchanged the final drafts of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Tourism Cooperation, with a view to signing the Agreement soon. END