14 April 2014 - Philippine Non-resident Ambassador to Panama Catalino R. Dilem, Jr. met with a private sector representative, Foreign Ministry officials and members of the Filipino community in Panama during his visit to Panama City from April 7 to 10.
On April 8, the Ambassador met with Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture of Panama (CCIAP) President Jose Luis Ford at the latter’s office in downtown Panama City. CCIAP has been in existence for nearly a century and has been promoting exchanges of trade activities between Panama and countries wishing to do business in Panama.
Ambassador Dilem encouraged President Ford to include the Philippines in the itinerary for his upcoming trip to Asia in order to liaise with his counterparts from the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry to further strengthen trade relations between the two countries. President Ford provided Ambassador Dilem with a schedule of trade fairs and tourism expositions lined up by the CCIAP for this year. An official invitation will be sent by the CCIAP which will be endorsed by the Philippine Embassy in Mexico to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and Department of Tourism (DOT) representatives based at the Philippine Consulate General in Los Angeles, California, United States.
After the meeting with CCIAP representatives, Ambassador Dilem touched base with officials of Panamanian Minsitry of Foreign Affairs, including Director General of Foreign Policy Virna Luque and Asia-Pacific Department Chief David De Leon.
Ambassador Dilem expressed his hope that the existing bilateral agreements between the Philippines and Panama can be utilized to further strengthen cultural and political partnership, not only between the foreign ministries of both countries but with other government agencies as well. Ambassador Dilem also conveyed the gratitude of the Philippine government for the assistance and protection extended by Panamanian officials to Filipino seafarers that traverse the Panama Canal daily. For her part, Director General Luque requested Ambassador Dilem for more information on the policies of the Philippine government concerning human trafficking as these are one of the priority issues of her office.
To cap his four-day visit, he met with the members of the Filipino community and with the assistance of Philippine Honorary Consul General in Panama Ernesto Arias, addressed the various concerns of the community ranging from passport, visa, residency issues and labor problems. In line with the Embassy’s program to assist Filipinos in the ten countries under its jurisdiction, a total of 11 passport applications were processed during the visit. END
