PHL Embassy in Ankara Conducts Consular Missions in Tbilisi, Georgia and Baku, Azerbaijan

The Embassy personnel provide consular services to the Filipinos living and working in Baku, Azerbaijan on March 26, 2017. (Photo courtesy of Cristopher Baguya)

03 April 2017 ANKARA — A three-member team from the Philippine Embassy in Ankara conducted consular missions in Tbilisi, Georgia and Baku, Azerbaijan from March 23 to 28.

The mobile consular team processed ePassport applications and overseas voter registrations in Tbilisi on March 24.

In Georgia, the Embassy called on the Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and discussed matters relating to the 25th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral relations between the Philippines and Georgia, the proposed second round of Philippines-Georgia political consultations, and Georgia’s proposal to gain Observer status within the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA).
Mr. Teimuraz Chichinadze, Consul General a.h. of the Philippine Consulate General in Georgia, conveyed his proposal to commemorate the 25th anniversary of bilateral ties along with the celebration of Philippine Independence in June 2017.

The team proceeded to the Teatro Boutique Hotel in Baku, Azerbaijan on March 26 for another consular mission. The team processed 30 ePassport applications, three acknowledgements, 33 applications for Embassy IDs, and one visa application.

The team called on International Organization for Migration (IOM) while in Baku. Both sides agreed to expand their cooperation to assist Filipinos who have been victims of human trafficking and abuse in Azerbaijan. The IOM shared their initiatives to prevent such cases from happening including giving a lecture on basic language courses for Filipinos and seminars on anti-human trafficking and the rights and privileges of Filipinos in Azerbaijan.

The team also conducted market research in groceries and supermarkets in both Tbilisi and Baku. While there were no Philippine products in Tbilisi’s largest supermarket, Carrefour, the team found Philippine products in Baku’s Citimart and Bazaar Store including Mamacitas, Datu Puti, Fita and three kinds of vermicelli noodles produced by Philippine companies: UFC, Siblings and Pinoy favorites. These products were imported from Dubai via a local distributor in Azerbaijan. END

The Embassy personnel pay a courtesy call on IOM Baku’s representatives, Mr. Serhan Aktoprak, Chief of Mission, Ms. Shareen Tuladhar, Head of Migrant Assistance Unit, and Mr. Ilyas Nabiyev, Project Coordinator to discuss ways to deepen cooperation and collaboration for the Filipino community in Azerbaijan. (Photo courtesy of Cristopher Baguya)