3 August 2013 - Philippine Ambassador (non-resident) to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) Erlinda F. Basilio presented her credentials to the President of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly of the DPRK, H.E. Kim Yong Nam, in a ceremony held on July 24 at the building of the Supreme People’s Assembly in Pyongyang.
Ambassador Basilio was accompanied by officials from the Philippine Embassy in Beijing during her presentation of credentials in Pyongyang.
In her meeting with the President of the Presidium, Ambassador Basilio committed to work towards ensuring closer bilateral relations between the Philippines and the DPRK—now on its 14th year—and reiterated the strong hope and desire of the Philippines for peace and stability to prevail in the Korean Peninsula.
Ambassador Basilio also broached exploring closer cooperation with the DPRK in the fields of education, disaster risk reduction and management, culture, and people-to-people exchanges, among others.
President of the Presidium Kim Yong Nam congratulated the Philippine envoy on her appointment, which will serve as a good momentum to the growing bilateral ties. He also expressed his hope that, being a female envoy, Ambassador Basilio would contribute greatly to the blossoming of the Philippines-DPRK relations.
The DPRK leader commended the Philippines for securing domestic stability and remarkable economic growth in the recent period, and congratulated the Philippines on its successes and achievements in its economic development under the leadership of President Benigno S. Aquino III. He shared with the Philippine Ambassador the fervent aspirations of the DPRK to also achieve economic growth to become an “economic giant” and improve the livelihood of the Korean people.
Both the the DPRK official and Ambassador Basilio stressed the importance of activating cultural cooperation and exchanges to enhance mutual understanding between the two countries and peoples.
During her stay in the DPRK capital Pyongyang, Ambassador Basilio also held separate meetings with officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Culture. END