07 October 2014 – The Philippine Embassy in Oslo convened on September 26 for its annual conference for Philippine Honorary Consular Officers in the Nordic region bringing together the country’s honorary consular officers from all the five Nordic countries.
Among those who attended the one-day conference held at the Embassy were Honorary Consul General Poul Krogh from Copenhagen, Denmark, Honorary Consul General Jukka Nyrölä and Honorary Consul Teresita Ruutu from Helsinki, Finland, Honorary Consul Maria Priscilla Zanoria from Reykjavik, Iceland, Honorary Consul Renee Ikdal from Stavanger, Norway and Honorary Consul Stafffan Gullander from Växjö, Sweden. Honorary Consul Henrik Lindbergh from Jutland, Denmark was represented at the conference by his spouse, Ms. Tina Kok.
Topics discussed during the conference ranged from updates on the latest key political and economic developments in the Philippines and ASEAN to the delivery of consular and assistance-to-nationals services to Filipino citizens in the region. Ms. Katherine Alcantara of the Department of Tourism Office in London and Ms. Mary Borromeo-Hedfors of the Department of Trade and Industry Office in Stockholm also provided the participants briefings on the tourism and trade and investment promotions program of the Philippine Government.
The conference also provided an opportunity for all the Philippine Honorary Consuls to report on their key accomplishments over the past year including highlights of their economic diplomacy efforts and the citizen services they provided to Filipino citizens. At the same time, the Honorary Consuls also had the chance to present their work programs for the coming year as well as exchange views and ideas on how to further enhance their operations and services.
Philippine Honorary Consular posts in the Nordic region play a key role in helping to promote closer bilateral economic and cultural ties between the Philippines and the Nordic countries. The Philippine Embassy in Oslo currently supervises the operations of seven Philippine Honorary Consular posts throughout the region. END