04 December 2014 - In a bid to find ways to highlight and enhance the the profile of the Asia-Pacific region amongst the Portuguese people, Philippine Ambassador to Portugal Philippe J. Lhuillier organized an informal gathering of the resident Ambassadors in Portugal representing Asia-Pacific countries on December 02 at the Vela Latina Restaurant in Lisbon’s Belem district.

There are 11 countries from East Asia, South Asia and the Pacific that have diplomatic presence in Portugal. Present at the lunch meeting organized by Ambassador Lhuillier were the Ambassadors of Japan, South Korea, Australia, Indonesia, Thailand and Pakistan.

Ambassador Lhuillier’s proposed that the group hold regular activities in which Portuguese guests from government, business, academe, politics and media would be invited to a gathering in order to generate better awareness and to discuss issues of relevance between Portugal and the Asian region. The proposal was positively welcomed by the Ambassadors at the meeting and there was an agreement that the grouping be informal in nature, to include the manner of engagement with various sectors of Portuguese society. The group also agreed that the activities can be done on a monthly basis or at least every two months with members of the group taking turns hosting or organizing the activity. END