PH Ambassador Amatong presents credentials to Lao PDR President Sisoulith, conveys commitment to deepen bilateral economic ties

Philippine Ambassador to the Lao People’s Democratic Republic Deena Joy Amatong, Ambassador presents her credentials to President of the Lao PDR Thongloun Sisoulith, (Photo courtesy of the Lao Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

Vientiane, 24 February 2022 — Philippine Ambassador to the Lao People’s Democratic Republic Deena Joy D. Amatong presented her Letter of Credence to Lao President Thongloun Sisoulith in a formal ceremony at the National Assembly in Vientiane on 23 February 2022.

In the meeting that followed the ceremony, both President Thongloun and Ambassador Amatong remarked on the friendly and long-standing ties between the Philippines and the Lao PDR, and they expressed the shared desire to further enhance and strengthen these relations.  Ambassador Amatong conveyed the warm greetings and best wishes of Philippine President H.E. Rodrigo Roa Duterte to his Lao counterpart and to the Lao people.

Ambassador Amatong congratulated President Thongloun on his country’s recent milestones, such as the inauguration of the Laos-China Railway and the Thanaleng Dry Port. She also invited President Thongloun to visit the Philippines, which if concretized, would be the first visit of a Lao President to the Philippines in the 67 years of relations between the two countries.

President Thongloun remarked on the Philippine tradition of sending women Ambassadors to Laos and how Laos considers this of great importance and significance.

Ambassador Amatong pledged to deepen trade and economic relations and to intensify cooperation in human resource development. She also thanked the Lao President for his country’s warm welcome and treatment of the Filipinos who call Laos their second home.

The Philippines and Laos established bilateral relations on 14 January 1955. There are around 2,000 Filipinos in Laos, most of whom work in the education sector.

Ambassador Amatong is a career diplomat in the Philippine Foreign Service who has served in Buenos Aires, Brussels, Paris and Vienna. She is the fifth consecutive Filipina Ambassador to Laos after Ambassadors Elizabeth Buensuceso, Marilyn Alarilla, Maria Lumen Isleta and Belinda Ante. END

Ambassador Deena Joy Amatong and President Thongloun Sisoulith discuss bilateral relations after the formal ceremony (Photo courtesy of the Lao Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

From L-R: Defense and Armed Forces Attaché Colonel Denis Mangcoy, Third Secretary and Vice Consul Jorge Philippe Arjona, First Secretary and Consul Rapunzel Acop, Ambassador Deena Joy Amatong, President Thongloun Sisoulith, Deputy Minister to the President’s Office Chansamone Phanthavong, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Bounleua Phandanouvong, Director General Viroth Sundara, Mr. Sisounthai Keophoxay (Photo courtesy of the Lao Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

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