PH Ambassador Discusses Opportunities to Strengthen Relations with Victoria State

Victoria Governor Linda Dessau (left) and Ambassador to Australia Ma. Hellen B. De La Vega met on 19 August 2019 at Government House during Ambassador De La Vega’s Official Visit to Victoria. (Canberra PE photo)

CANBERRA 02 September 2019 — Ambassador to Australia Hellen B. De La Vega completed her Official Visit to Victoria on 19-21 August 2019 after a call on Victoria Governor Linda Dessau, Melbourne Lord Mayor Sally Capp, Premier Daniel Andrews’ representative Richard Wynne, Leader of the Opposition Michael O’Brien, Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council David Davis, and Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT)-Victoria Acting State Director Susan Coles.

Ambassador De La Vega expressed the Philippines’ desire to build stronger linkages between Victoria and the local government units in the Philippines, particularly to learn Victoria’s best practices in urban planning.

She expressed her interest to work with the State Government to generate greater awareness on the Philippines, given the almost 70,000 Filipino population in Victoria, the presence of the Australia Philippines Business Council, and the increase the number of direct flights between Manila and Melbourne since last year.

Victoria’s economic relations with the Philippines is remarkable, given the presence of Philippine investors ICTSI and Monde Nissin in the State. There are also Victoria-based IT-BPM industries that have operations in the Philippines. Victoria officials welcomed the efforts of the Philippine Government to strengthen its economic engagement with the State, thus committed to work with the Philippines to achieve this. END

Melbourne Lord Mayor Sally Capp (left) and Ambassador De La Vega met on 19 August 2019 at Melbourne Town Hall to discuss building linkages between Melbourne City and local government units in the Philippines. (Canberra PE photo)

Ambassador De La Vega and the Hon Richard Wynn, representative of Premier Daniel Andrews, met on 20 August 2019 in Melbourne to exchange ideas on deepening economic engagement between the Philippines and Victoria. (Canberra PE photo)

Leader of the Opposition Michael O’Brien, Ambassador De La Vega, Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council David Davis, and Philippine Honorary Consul to Victoria Felix Pintado met on 20 August 2019 in Melbourne as part of the Ambassador’s Official Visit to Victoria. (Canberra PE photo)

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) in Victoria Acting State Director Susan Coles and Ambassador De La Vega met on 20 August 2019. Ms. Coles shared with the Ambassador the work of DFAT-Victoria with the consular corps in Melbourne. (Canberra PE photo)

For more information, visit https://www.philembassy.org.au or https://www.facebook.com/PHinAustralia/.