07 September 2016 — To mark the formal opening of the Philippine Street Festival at the Old Arbat, a reception was hosted by the Philippine Embassy at the Festival venue on August 26, where Moscow-based diplomats, officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, officials from the Moscow City Government and other invited guests joined the festivities. During the reception, the Philippine Embassy Cultural Performing Group impressed the crowd with four dances. Philippine food and drinks were served to the guests.

Ambassador Lyudmila Vorobyova, Director of the Third Asian Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs represented the Russian Government at the event while the Moscow City Government was represented by Mr. Vyacheslav Manuylov, Director ofits International Relations Division.

In his remarks at the reception, Philippine Ambassador to the Russian Federation Carlos D. Sorreta welcomed the guests to the first Philippine Street Festival and thanked the Moscow City Government for its support. 

Ambassador Sorreta noted that the Philippines and Russia are celebrating 40 years of formal relations this year and although “thousands of kilometers separate Manila and Moscow, we thought we would bridge that vast distance by bringing a taste of Philippine culture to the people of Moscow in a fun and relaxed atmosphere.”

On her part, Ambassador Vorobyova welcomed the holding of the Festival as a celebration of the 40th Anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Philippines and Russia, adding “we agreed on a broad celebration of this event within the whole year so that our people could get better knowledge of traditions, culture, and tourist potential of both Russia and the Philippines.”

Ambassador Vorobyova expressed optimism for the future of Philippine-Russia relations saying “the Philippines is a significant and promising partner of Russia in the Asia-Pacific region. For the last decades we reached a considerable progress in bilateral cooperation in various fields, such as: development of the political dialog, strengthening of interparliamentary relations, working out of legal bases for cooperation in certain spheres, and gradual deepening of trade-economic and humanitarian ties.”

In his remark Mr. Vyacheslav Manuylov said that this event will draw a great interest of Moscow residents and tourists and encourage the development of the economic, cultural and tourist relations between Moscow and Manila both at the local and federal levels. He added “I hope with all my heart that we will be able to hold this kind of events annually and thus develop mutual understanding and friendship between the peoples of the Philippines and Russia.

The Philippine Street Festival at the Old Arbat started on August 24 and will end on August 30. END