PH Ambassador Calls on Bahrain Council of Representatives Speaker

Ambassador to Bahrain Alfonso A. Ver (left) and Member of Parliament and Bahrain Council of Representatives Chair Fawzia Bint Abdullah Zainal (right) (Bahrain PE photo)

MANAMA 02 September 2019 —Philippine Ambassador to Bahrain Alfonso A. Ver called on Member of Parliament and Bahrain Council of Representatives Chair Fawzia Bint Abdullah Zainal to foster relations between the Philippines and Bahrain legislatures on 21 August 2019. 

Speaker Zainal is the first female chair and speaker, and the second female to hold such a position in the Gulf Cooperation Council. Moreover, her term has the highest representation of female parliamentarians since 2002.

Ambassador Ver also took the opportunity to personally hand over the curriculum vitae of House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano. Speaker Zainal in return handed over an official invitation letter for Speaker Cayetano to visit Bahrain. She also expressed the hope that they could meet in the forthcoming International Parliamentary Union Conference in October. 

Speaker Zainal noted the invaluable contributions of the Filipino community in Bahrain, most particularly those she had encountered, as well as those she continues to work within her former profession as a journalist and media personality. She also recalled many instances where she had met exemplary Filipina leaders during her engagements in social activism and women’s issues. 

The Bahrain News Agency reported the call saying that “The Representatives Council Speaker praised ever-growing relations between Bahrain and the Philippines in trade and investment fields, affirming the need to achieve more economic openness and build on previous accomplishments. She also lauded the contribution of the Philippine community to the kingdom’s development, commending the stance of the Philippine Senate and House of Representatives in supporting security and stability in Bahrain. She underlined keenness of the Representatives Council in Bahrain to activate the Bahrain-Philippines parliamentary friendship committees.” END

For more information, visit https:/www.manamape.dfa.gov.ph or https://www.facebook.com/PHLinBahrain.