21 December 2015 – Philippine Ambassador to Qatar Wilfredo C. Santos paid a courtesy call on the Director of the Asian Affairs Department of Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Khalid Ibrahim A. Al-Hamar, last December 13.

Since assuming his duty last April 29 and presenting his credentials last August 30, this is the first time that Ambassador Santos formally met Director Al-Hamar to discuss the status of Philippines-Qatar relations.

Director Al-Hamar expressed the hope that 2016 will be a more productive year for Philippines-Qatar bilateral relations.

Among the initiatives to be explored in 2016 are exchange of visits between the two countries’ foreign ministry officials and a visit by the Philippine head of state to reciprocate the successful visit of the Father Emir in 2012.

Ambassador Santos also pushed for the convening of the inaugural meeting of the Joint Ministerial Commission for Bilateral Cooperation (JMCBC) in line with the MOU on the Establishment of a Joint Ministerial Commission for Bilateral Cooperation, which was signed on 10 March 1997 in Doha between then Secretary of Foreign Affairs Domingo L. Siazon and his Qatari counterpart Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Ahmad Bin Abdullah Al-Mahmoud.

The JMCBC will hopefully serve as a mechanism to facilitate the signing of several pending bilateral agreements. END