PH Embassy Assures Ties with Japan Remain Top PH Priority
TOKYO 02 May 2022 — Philippine Embassy Deputy Chief of Mission Robespierre Bolivar assured the newly-elected officers of the Japan-Philippines Parliamentary Friendship League (JPPFL) on 25 April 2022 that its bilateral relations with Japan will remain among the Philippines’ top foreign policy priorities even after the national elections in May 2022.
“Despite the change in our leadership, one of the things which, in my view, will remain constant in our foreign policy is the importance we will place on our relations with Japan,” said Deputy Chief of Mission Bolivar as he encouraged the parliamentarians to continue supporting efforts to strengthen cooperation between the Philippines and Japan during the JPPFL meeting.
DCM Bolivar highlighted the recent milestones in Philippines-Japan bilateral relations, including the inaugural Foreign Affairs and Defense Ministers Meeting and the first Maritime Dialogue; and thanked Japan for its support for the Philippines’ efforts to mitigate the effects of the pandemic, including its donation of more than 3 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccines. He emphasized that “given the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, our cooperation in the field of healthcare is of the utmost importance. This is why the establishment of our Joint Committee on the Fields of Healthcare in 2021 is crucial.”
He recalled that the Philippines and Japan celebrated the 65th anniversary of the normalization of its bilateral relations in 2021, the same year the Philippine Olympic Team won its historic first Gold Medal and the country’s biggest medal haul in the Olympic Games to date. He noted that “while Japan will undoubtedly continue to be our friend closer than a brother, Japan has also become an indelible part of Philippine Olympic history.”
The JPPFL is composed of members of the House of Councillors and House of Representatives of the Japanese Diet. This was the first meeting of the JPPFL since the pandemic began in early 2019. END
For more information, visit https://www.tokyo.philembassy.net or https://www.tokyope.dfa.gov.ph, or https://www.facebook.com/PHLinJapan/.