10 February 2016 – Philippine Ambassador to Turkey Maria Rowena Mendoza Sanchez paid a courtesy call on Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu on January 07. 

In their one-on-one conversation, Minister Çavuşoğlu stated that he looked forward to hosting the Secretary of Foreign Affairs in Ankara.  He said he was “very satisfied with the reciprocal high-level visits.” Both he and the Ambassador referred to the visit to Manila by His Excellency Prime Minister Dr. Ahmet Davutoğlu in November 2014, followed by the visit of Senate President Franklin Drilon to Ankara in April 2015 and the visit of the Armed Forces of the Philippines Vice Chief of Staff, Lt. Gen. John Bonafos the following May.

Touching on Turkey’s application to become an ASEAN Dialogue Partner, Minister Çavuşoğlu thanked the Ambassador for the Philippines’ support for Turkey and for it to become a Sectoral Partner in ASEAN. “We highly appreciate it”, he said. They also discussed the successful chairmanships of the Philippines and Turkey of APEC and G20, respectively, in November 2015 as well as other recent positive developments in their bilateral relations, such as the direct flights between Istanbul and Manila via Turkish Airlines, the establishment of the TIKA development office in Manila, and the accreditation of a Turkish defense and military attaché in Manila. 

Ambassador Sanchez highlighted as well the recent chairmanship of Turkey of the 8th Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) Summit in Istanbul where the Philippines actively participated last October 2015. She also stated that thousands of Filipinos have chosen to live and work in Turkey and have been largely satisfied with the progressive treatment by Turkish authorities and employers.  Minister Çavuşoğlu also committed Turkey’s acceptance of more Filipino scholars in Turkish universities in the science and technological disciplines.

Minister Çavuşoğlu reiterated Turkey’s full support of the peace process in Southern Philippines. “We will continue to fully support this process”, he said.  The two officials also discussed the state of economic cooperation and trade between the two countries, and hoped the upcoming 3rd Political Consultations could help move levels beyond mere potential. The political consultations will also be an opportunity to share information on the respective maritime territorial issues both countries face in their respective regions. The upcoming Joint Economic Commission was also discussed. END