Philippine Ambassador Presents Credentials to Guatemalan President
L-R Ambassador Lilybeth R. Deapera, President Alejandro Giammattei and Foreign Minister Mario Búcaro. (Photo by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Guatemala).
GUATEMALA 21 December 2023 – Dr. Alejandro Giammattei, President of the Republic of Guatemala, received the credentials of H.E. Lilybeth R. Deapera as Non-Resident Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of the Philippines in a ceremony held at the Presidential House in Guatemala City on 14 December 2023.
Ambassador Deapera was one of the five (5) Ambassadors newly accredited to Guatemala. She was accompanied by Second Secretary and Consul Ralf G. Roldan and Philippine Honorary Consul Silvana Ayuso. Likewise, in attendance was Guatemalan Minister of Foreign Affairs Mario Búcaro.
During the téte-á-téte, Ambassador Deapera conveyed the best wishes of President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr. to President Giammattei. The meeting focused on issues of common concern such as the blue economy, protection of marine environment and the West Philippine Sea which the two countries can cooperate on.
To end the exchange, the Ambassador thanked the President for his Government's support to the Philippines in different multilateral fora, and conveyed the Philippines´ commitment to work closely together with Guatemala on issues of mutual concern.
Prior to the ceremony, Ambassador Deapera presented a copy of her credentials to Minister Búcaro, who shared his fond memories of the Philippines when he received the Gusi Peace Prize in 2019 when he was then the Guatemalan Ambassador to Israel.
Formal diplomatic relations between the Philippines and Guatemala were established on 21 June 1972. In 2022, Guatemala ranked as the Philippines 116th trading partner out of 231 countries with total trade amounting to USD 5.19 million. In the same year, 231 Filipinos were reported to be residing in Guatemala, majority of whom are craft workers and professionals. END
Ambassador Lilybeth R. Deapera (middle-left) accompanied by Second Secretary Ralf G. Roldan (second to the left) and PH Honorary Consul Silvana Ayuso (left-most) during the presentation of the copy of her credentials to Minister Mario Búcaro (middle-right) (Photo by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Guatemala).
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