PH Ambassador to Portugal Concludes Successful Chairpersonship of ASEAN Committee
Ambassador to Portugal and outgoing ASEAN Committee Lisbon Portugal (ACLP) Chairperson Celia Anna M. Feria (right) hands over the ACLP Chairperson’s Report to Thai Ambassador to Portugal and incoming ACLP Chairperson Pornpan Buakird (center) while Indonesian Ambassador to Portugal Ibnu Wahyutomo (left) looks on at the Philippine Ambassador’s official residence in Lisbon. (Lisbon PE photo)
LISBON 25 September 2019 - Ambassador to Portugal Celia Anna M. Feria formally turned over the ASEAN Committee Lisbon Portugal (ACLP) Chairpersonship to Thai Ambassador to Portugal Pornpan Buakird at the Philippine Ambassador’s official residence on 22 August 2019.
During the six-month chairpersonship of Ambassador Feria from January to June 2019, the ACLP, which is composed of the resident Ambassadors of Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand in Portugal, focused on its continuing efforts to raise the awareness and promote interest in ASEAN by presenting the region’s rich cultural heritage and diversity as well as the various benefits and opportunities of investing and doing business with the ASEAN Economic Community.
In line with this direction to promote the ASEAN identity in Portugal, the ACLP under the chairpersonship of Ambassador Feria, participated in an academic and cultural activity at the University of Lisbon (ULisboa) on 21 February 2019 and a business seminar organized by Antonio Viñal & Co. Abogados (AVCO) Legal on the opportunities and potentials the ASEAN market may offer to Portuguese companies on 30 May 2019
The first activity was the Southeast Asian cultural week organized by the League of Asian Studies of ULisboa where students and faculty alike immersed themselves in Southeast Asian culture by listening to the diverse linguistic heritage in Southeast Asian, tasting the different flavors of Southeast Asian gastronomy, watching the various cultural dance performances, taking part in experiential cultural workshop activities and playing traditional board games.
The one day cultural event gave an opportunity for the students and faculty of ULisboa to discover, learn and appreciate not only ASEAN’s multicultural heritage, but also a better understanding of the people from this region.
The second activity was part of ACLP’s promotional campaign to raise the ASEAN economic profile in Portugal. ACLP participated in a seminar organized by AVCO Legal, a Spanish law firm with an office in Portugal and a regional office in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The seminar was part of AVCO Legal’s commemoration of their fifth year of business operations in the Southeast Asian region. Ambassador Feria, as ACLP Chairperson, delivered an informative overview of ASEAN’s business environment and encouraged Portuguese businesses to explore and take advantage of ASEAN’s growth trajectory.
During Ambassador Feria’s presentation, she discussed the network of free trade agreements, the growth of ASEAN’s services sector, ASEAN’s emergence as a foreign direct investment destination, its infrastructure development and connectivity and the highly skilled and young labor force.
Both activities during the ACLP chairpersonship of Ambassador to Portugal Feria successfully brought ASEAN to a higher platform of awareness and appreciation, which provide increased interest in ASEAN’s people, culture and economy.
At the turnover ceremony, Ambassador Feria expressed her appreciation for the support given to her by her ASEAN colleagues during her six-month term as chairperson and looks forwards in actively participating in more activities that would continue to engage the academe, business community, civil society, government and media in Portugal. END
Ambassador Feria (center) discusses with Ambassador Wahyutomo (left) and Ambassador Buakird (right), the upcoming ASEAN Committee Lisbon Portugal (ACLP) activities that would raise awareness of ASEAN in Portugal.
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