03 December 2014 – Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert F. del Rosario received Russian Ambassador Nikolay Kudashev at the Department of Foreign Affairs on December 01.
During the meeting, Secretary Del Rosario conveyed his profound gratitude to Ambassador Kudashev for actively moving forward relations between the Philippines and Russia. He mentioned positive and remarkable developments in several areas, including political consultations, bilateral trade, tourism, and exchanges of high-level visits. Notwithstanding this, the Secretary saw further room for improvement in the bilateral relationship and urged greater cooperation in agriculture, disaster response, investments, education, and science and technology.
For his part, Ambassador Kudashev thanked the Philippine Government for its continued commitment to the development of relations between the Philippines and Russia. He said this facilitated cooperation in many areas at the bilateral, regional, and multilateral levels, and likewise set the stage for the celebration of the 40th anniversary of the establishment of their diplomatic relations in 2016.
Moreover, Ambassador Kudashev congratulated the Philippines for assuming the chairmanship of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in 2015, and informed the Secretary that several high-ranking Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin, would be coming to the Philippines next year to attend the APEC Summit and other related meetings.
After the meeting, Secretary del Rosario hosted lunch in honor of Ambassador Kudashev. This was attended by Undersecretary Rafael E. Seguis, European Affairs Assistant Secretary Maria Zeneida Angara Collinson, European Affairs Director Conrado B. Demdem, Jr., Philippine Airlines Vice President for External Affairs Ma. Socorro Gonzaga, and other Embassy officials.
Ambassador Kudashev will soon be completing his tenure. He began his term as Russian Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Philippines in October 2010. He is no stranger to the Philippines, as he was assigned in Manila before as Third Secretary and later Second Secretary of the Russian Embassy from 1992 to 1996. END
