PHL Embassy in Pretoria Hosts Diplomatic Reception to Celebrate the 119^th Anniversary of Philippine Independence

Ambassador Joseph Gerard B. Angeles (right) and Deputy Minister of Sports and Recreation Gert Oosthuizen toast the 119^th celebration of Philippine independence

19 June 2017 PRETORIA — The Philippine Embassy in Pretoria welcomed the diplomatic community, officers of the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO), other South African government officials, members of South Africa’s academic and business sectors, and other friends of the Embassy at the official residence on June 12 to celebrate the 119^th year of Philippine Independence. South Africa’s Deputy Minister of Sports and Recreation, the Hon. Gert Oosthuizen, was the celebration’s guest of honor.

Deputy Minister Oosthuizen congratulated and commended the Philippines’ Chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ (ASEAN) on its 50^th Founding Anniversary and the country’s successful hosting of the ASEAN Summit held in April. Further, with South Africa as the incoming Chair of the Southern African Development Community this August, Deputy Minister Oosthuizen expressed the possibility of closer cooperation between the Philippines and South Africa on behalf of their regional blocs. Deputy Minister Oosthuizen likewise underlined the strength of Philippine-South African bilateral relations, with this year marking the 20^th anniversary of former President Nelson Mandela’s visit to the Philippines. He also noted the country’s continuing economic growth amidst global economic challenges and expressed his optimism that trade between the Philippines and South Africa will continue to grow.

In his speech, Ambassador Joseph Gerard B. Angeles spoke of the country’s significant strides in fighting poverty, corruption, and the scourge of illegal drugs with a firm commitment to uphold the rights and welfare of the Filipino people. Ambassador Angeles highlighted the Philippine economy’s continued ability to perform beyond expectations. Despite changes in the domestic front and in the wider global community, the country was Asia’s third fastest-growing economy in 2016 and had continued to improve in the World Bank’s ranking in the ease of doing business.

Ambassador Angeles also remarked how the friendship between the Philippines and South Africa has grown through the years and how closer people-to-people exchanges have led both countries into greater cooperation. The Philippines will host South African government officials in Manila this August for a bilateral consultation forum to discuss and implement activities to further enhance cooperation in the areas of trade, merchant shipping, agriculture, tourism and in the multilateral fora. This July, the Philippines’ Department of Trade and Industry will lead a delegation of approximately thirty-six Filipino businessmen, representing a wide-range of business interests, to a three-city business exploration tour of South Africa. Given all these developments, Ambassador Angeles expressed his confidence that the Philippines-South African bilateral relations will continue to improve and will bring prosperity to both countries in the years to come. END

For more information, visit www.pretoriape.dfa.gov.ph.

(Left photo) Ambassador Joseph Gerard B. Angeles and Madam Cecilia Angeles with Pretoria PE personnel and their families commemorate the 119^th year of Philippine Independence; (Right photo) Ambassador Joseph Gerard B. Angeles (right-most) is joined by the Dean of the Diplomatic Corps, DRC Ambassador Bene Mpoko (2^nd from right), US Consul General Chris Rowan (2^nd from left), and Nepali Ambassador Amrit Bahadur Rai (left-most) in celebrating the 119^th Anniversary of Philippine Independence