20 December 2013 – Ambassador Leah M. Basinang-Ruiz on December 13 paid a courtesy call on General Michel Aoun, a Lebanese parliamentarian and leader of one of country’s major political parties, the Free Patriotic Movement.

General Aoun is a former commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces and an influential political figure in Lebanon.  During the call, Ambassador Ruiz gave General Aoun a brief background of the longstanding Philippine-Lebanese relations, including the status of the Philippines-Lebanon Memorandum of Agreement on Labor Cooperation and the ongoing negotiations on the Standard Employment Contract (SEC). She stressed that the Philippine side has ratified the MOA six months after it was signed on February 01, 2012, while the official notification of the ratification by the Lebanese side is still being awaited. The efforts of the Embassy to protect around 30,000 Filipinos in Lebanon and the support and cooperation by the various concerned Lebanese government agencies were also highlighted during the meeting. 

Ambassador Ruiz also apprised the General on the efforts of the Embassy to bring in to Lebanon various Philippine food products and expressed her hope that Lebanese businessmen would also consider the Philippines as one of their major trading hubs in Southeast Asia.

For his part, General Aoun assured Ambassador Ruiz of his support for the bilateral initiatives of the Philippine Embassy. Also present during the call was General Aoun’s Foreign Affairs Adviser, Mr. Michel de Chadarevian.  END