24 July 2014 - Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert F. del Rosario met separately with German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Maltese Foreign Minister George Vella, UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, and Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo yesterday, July 23, at the sidelines of the ASEAN-EU Foreign Ministers Meeting (AEMM) in Brussels, Belgium.
Secretary Del Rosario conveyed the appreciation of the Philippines to the European leaders for their countries’ assistance in the aftermath of Supertyphoon Haiyan/Yolanda and their support to the Mindanao peace process. He also sought their continued support for the country’s efforts to hurdle the EU requirements on compliance with the Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW) Convention while informing them of the progress in Philippine efforts to prepare for the visit of the inspection team from the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) at the end of September. The Secretary expressed appreciation for the EU’s support to the Philippines’ arbitration case.
In his meeting with German Foreign Minister Steinmeier, Secretary Del Rosario briefed the Foreign Minister on developments in the South China Sea/West Philippines Sea and discussed the robust PH-German cooperation in light of the 60th Anniversary of bilateral relations this year.
Secretary Del Rosario also met with Maltese Foreign Minister Vella and obtained Malta’s assistance in the evacuation of Filipinos from Libya, citing the mandatory evacuation declared by the Philippines. The two officials recalled the cooperation extended by the Maltese Government in 2011 when Filipinos used Malta as their transit point when they were evacuated from Libya at the height of the civilian unrest in that country. The Secretary recognized the importance of Malta’s intervention on the Philippines’ compliance with the STCW requirements.
Newly-appointed British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond and Secretary del Rosario committed to work together to further strengthen bilateral cooperation on all fronts.
Secretary Del Rosario and Spanish Foreign Secretary Margallo reaffirmed ties. They recalled Minister Margallo’s visit to Manila last March to inaugurate a humanitarian-related infrastructure in Pampanga where Spanish relief goods would be prepositioned for use during times of disaster.
The Secretary met with Malaysian Deputy Foreign Minister Dato Hamzah Zainudin to convey the Philippines’ condolences and solidarity with Malaysia for the tragic loss of lives on board the ill-fated Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17. They further discussed developments in the SCS and how claimant states can work together in addressing current challenges.
The meetings on the sidelines of the AEMM provided an opportunity for Secretary Del Rosario to present the Philippine official position on and promote better understanding of the developments in the South China Sea/West Philippine Sea, and to express gratitude to our European partners for their strong support to rebuild in the aftermath of Haiyan/Yolanda, achieve peace in Mindanao, and promote greater trade and investment cooperation, and people-to-people exchanges. END