11 February 2015 – Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert F. del Rosario is set to undertake a two-day official visit to Norway starting today, February 11, upon the invitation of Norwegian Foreign Minister Borge Brende.
The two foreign ministers are expected to discuss on February 12 Philippines-Norway cooperation in the areas of peace mediation, maritime affairs, disaster risk reduction and management and trade and investment.
The visit will provide Secretary Del Rosario the opportunity to convey to Foreign Minister Brende the Philippine government’s appreciation for Norway’s firm support to the peace process, its commitment to assist the Philippines’ efforts to improve further seafarers’ education and training, and their solid partnership in disaster risk reduction and management.
Around 25,000 Filipino seafarers are on board Norwegian-owned or -registered merchant vessels. Filipino maritime students benefit from the education and training provided by the Norwegian Training Center - Manila (NTCM), which was established by the Norwegian Shipowners Association in 1990. The NSA has embarked on a plan to expand and develop further the NTCM as the top training provider for Filipino seafarers.
Secretary Del Rosario will also make a pitch for more Norwegian investments in renewable energy in the country, particularly geothermal and solar power in which Norway has world-class expertise.
The Philippines is a recipient of Norway’s sovereign wealth fund investments. The Norwegian government’s Pension Fund Global, owned by the Ministry of Finance of Norway on behalf of the Norwegian people but administered by the Norges Bank Investment Management, is the biggest sovereign wealth fund in the world with a combined asset worth US$870 billion as of May 2014. The fund is invested in companies outside Norway under strict criteria such as good corporate governance and acceptable ethical standards. The top 10 Philippine companies with the biggest investments from the fund based on market value in 2013 were Metro Pacific Investments Corp, GT Capital Holdings Inc, SM InvestmentsCorp, PuregoldPrice Club Inc, PLDT, Alliance Global Group Inc, International Container Terminal Services Inc, PetronCorp, AyalaLandInc, and Universal Robina Corp.
The visit of Secretary Del Rosario reciprocates the visit of Foreign Minister Brende to the Philippines in January 2014, in which the Norwegian Foreign Minister had the opportunity to call on President Benigno S. Aquino III and to visit the Yolanda-affected communities in the province of Leyte.
Norway’s total humanitarian assistance to victims of Super Typhoon Yolanda/Haiyan reached almost US$35 million. The money was coursed through several United Nations agencies such as the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), World Health Organization (WHO), Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), World Food Programme (WFP) and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and international organizations such as the Red Cross, Save the Children Fund, and Caritas.
Norway is the Third Party Facilitator for the peace talks between the Philippine Government and the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF/CNN). It is also a member of the International Monitoring Team for the Philippine Government-Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) peace talks and sits as Vice-chair of the Independent Decommissioning Body (IDB) in charge of the decommissioning process of the MILF forces and arms.
The meeting between Secretary Del Rosario and Foreign Minister Brende will be preceded by a bilateral political consultation on February 11 between Assistant Secretary Maria Zeneida Angara Collinson of the Office of European Affairs of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Director General Tore Hattrem of the Department of Regional Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway. END