04 March 2016 - The 3rd Political Consultations between the Philippines and Turkey were held at Ankara Palas in Ankara on February 29. The Philippine delegation was composed of Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), led by Assistant Secretary for European Affairs Maria Cleofe Natividad, together with Director Josephine Reynante, Director Raymond Balatbat, Special Assistant Josel N. Mostajo; Philippine Ambassador to Turkey Maria Rowena Mendoza Sanchez, Minister and Consul General Robert Ferrer, Jr. and Third Secretary and Vice Consul Ericka Anna T. Abad. The Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) Chair of the GPH Peace Panel Prof. Miriam Coronel-Ferrer was also part of the Philippine delegation, together with Atty. Anna Tarhata Basman.
The Turkish Delegation was composed of Ambassador Ersin Erçin, Director General, Directorate General for Bilateral Political Affairs; Ambassador Burak Özügergin, Director General, Directorate General for Bilateral Political Affairs (Maritime-Aviation-Borders); Ambassador Mustafa Pulat, Head of the International Decommissioning Body, GPH-MILF Peace Agreement; Ms. Inci Armağan Ersoy, Deputy Director General, DDG for Southeast Asia and Pacific; Mr. Akil Oktem, Head of the Department, DDG for Southeast Asia and Pacific; Mr. Alp Işıklı, Head of the Department, DDG for General and Bilateral Economic Affairs; Ms. Aylin Sekizkök, Head of the Department, DDG for Security and Intelligence; Mr. Barış Andiç, Head of Department, Deputy Directorate General for the Middle East; Ms. Oya Yazar, Head of Department, Deputy Directorate General for East Asia; and Mr. Eymen Ozsahin, Third Secretary, DDG for Southeast Asia and Pacific.
Issues discussed ranged from bilateral trade between the two countries, status of pending bilateral agreements in the fields of defense and military cooperation including visits by Turkish Navy vessels to the Philippines, transnational crime, agriculture, tourism, education cooperation, maritime cooperation, development cooperation, agreement on mutual administrative assistance in customs matters, cooperation in energy, cultural cooperation, education cooperation, consular cooperation and other issues.
Both sides agreed to hold bilateral maritime consultations as a follow-up to the meeting.
Both sides also noted the recent spate of high-level visits in commemoration of the 65th anniversary of bilateral relations starting in 2014 with the Visit of Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu and the visit of Senate President Franklin Drilon in 2015. Both sides agreed to elevate the bilateral relations further and with more high-level exchanges of visits. END