PH Ambassador Presents Letter of Credence to Venezuelan President

Ambassador Joseph Gerard B. Angeles (right) presented his Letters of Credence to H.E. President Nicolas Maduro (left), the President of Venezuela, at the Presidential Palace in Caracas, Venezuela. (Brasilia PE photos)

CARACAS 04 March 2024 - Ambassador Joseph Gerard B. Angeles presented his Letter of Credence to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, at the Presidential Palace, the Palacio dela Miraflores, also called Casa del Pueblo (the House of the People), in Caracas on 20 February 2024.

Ambassador Angeles conveyed the well-wishes of President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. to President Maduro and the people of Venezuela, and expressed his appreciation for the preparations provided by the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry for the ceremony. 

Ambassador Angeles also thanked the Venezuelan government for the well-being of the estimated 200 Filipinos living in Venezuela and assured that they will continue to provide positive contributions to the Venezuelan economy and society as a whole.

In the course of their meeting, President Maduro and Ambassador Angeles discussed areas of potential cooperation. On energy cooperation, Ambassador Angeles mentioned that the Philippines sought to diversify its energy sources, including imported oil and petroleum products, and that exploring opportunities with Venezuela will be mutually beneficial for the two countries. In this regard, a visit to the Philippines of experts from Petroleos de Venezuela for purposes of exchange of information and best practices was welcomed by both parties.

On agriculture, Ambassador Angeles expressed the interest of the Philippines to export agricultural products to Venezuela, including abaca, food and non-food products derived from coconuts such as coco-coir and oil, as well as processed food products such as canned fish, carageenan and other marine products. President Maduro expressed his interest in these products, particularly abaca.

President Maduro also extended his personal invitation for President Marcos to visit Venezuela. He said he would personally escort President Marcos to the country’s most beautiful beaches.

President Maduro also remarked that he was a fan of Manny Pacquiao.

The meeting ended with Ambassador Angeles and President Maduro expressing mutual desires and assurances for the further strengthening of relations between the Philippines and Venezuela on both bilateral and multilateral levels in the course of the term of Ambassador Angeles. 

A day earlier, on 19 February 2024, Ambassador Angeles also met with Venezuela’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, H.E. Yvan Gil.  In addition to the above, Ambassador Angeles and Minister Gil discussed multilateral cooperation.  In particular, Ambassador Angeles reiterated that the Philippines is running for a seat in the UN Security Council for the term 2027-2028, and that its candidature was endorsed by all ASEAN member-states.

Ambassador Angeles emphasized that if elected, the Philippines will uphold the importance of the rule of law and the peaceful settlement of disputes in the maintenance of international peace and security.  He also said that the Philippines will work on strengthening the UN’s work in peacekeeping and provide a platform for multilateral consensus in pursuing security council reforms for greater transparency and inclusivity.

In the course of his stay in Caracas, Ambassador Angeles also had the opportunity to hold a town-hall meeting with the Filipino Community and their Venezuelan friends which was held at the Jesuit House in Caracas.  During the meeting, Ambassador Angeles discussed positive developments in the Philippines under Bagong Pilipinas, as well as consular issues affecting Filipinos in Venezuela. END

President Maduro (right) and Ambassador Angeles (left) discussed areas of potential cooperation such as energy cooperation, trade of agricultural products, and tourism promotion. (Brasilia PE photo)

Ambassador Joseph Gerard B. Angeles (left) and Foreign Minister Yvan Gil (right) review the Guardia de Honor. (Brasilia PE photo)

Ambassador Joseph Gerard B. Angeles held (sixth from left) a town-hall meeting with the Filipino Community and their Venezuelan friends at the Jesuit House in Caracas to discuss positive developments in the Philippines under Bagong Pilipinas and consular issues affecting Filipinos in Venezuela. (Brasilia PE photo)

For more information, visit  https://www.brasiliape.dfa.gov.ph, https://www.philembassybrasilia.org or https://www.facebook.com/PHinBrazil/.