21 October 2015 - The Philippines’ hosting of APEC 2015 and the “Asia Trade Know-How 2015’ to be held in Warsaw were the main focus of the “mini-seminar” and “get-together” of the Asia Pacific Group of Ambassadors (APGA) recently hosted by Philippine Ambassador to Poland Patricia Ann V. Paez last September 29.

The APGA was given an update that under the theme “Building Inclusive Economies, Building A  Better World,”  the Economic Leaders of APEC will cover the following, among others: connectivity blueprint and its elements; structural reform; disaster risk reduction; challenges of urbanization and rural development; women and the economy; and promoting MSMEs. A short video on APEC 2015 was shown during the lunch-meeting.

Mr. Piotr Orackewicz, president of Expo Arena which is the organizer of first-ever “Asia Trade Know-How 2015” in Poland, gave an overview about this business promotion event  that will highlight how Polish businessmen/investors can trade with and invest in the countries of the Asia-Pacific region.

Making a strong pitch for Philippine tourism, Ambassador Paez urged the ambassadors to go to the Philippines during their winter holiday vacation before the video “It’s More Fun in the Philippines” was shown to the guests.

The APGA also welcomed the new ambassadors of India, Thailand, Mongolia, Bangladesh and Peru and bid farewell to the ambassador of Canada who will end her tour of duty this October.

Those who attended the event were the following: Japanese Ambassador Makoto Yamanaka, Chinese Ambassador Xu Jian, South Korean Ambassador Ji-in Hong,  Canadian Ambassador Alexandra Bugailiskis, Indian Ambassador Ajay Bisaria, Mongolian  Ambassador Nemekh Bataa, Pakistani Ambassador Khalid Hussain Memon, Bangladeshi Ambassador Muhammad Mahfuzur Rahman, Peruvian Ambassador Alberto Salas Barahona, Thai Ambassador Manasvi Srisodapol, New Zealand Charge d’Affaires Anne Cawthorn, and Malaysian Charge d’ Affaires Subashini Kamarapullai. END