04 March 2016 – In line with its public and economic diplomacy thrusts, Philippine Ambassador to Qatar Wilfredo C. Santos, together with Deputy Head of Mission Gonaranao B. Musor and Cultural Attaché John Danilo G. Jiao, made a courtesy call today on Al Jazeera Media Network.

Dr. Moustefa Souag, the Director General of Al Jazeera, personally received the Philippine Embassy delegation.

Ambassador Santos took the opportunity to thank Al Jazeera for providing career opportunities for Filipino media professionals, while Dr. Souag praised the high-level of training of OFWs in general. Notable Filipino broadcast journalists working for Al Jazeera are Veronica Pedrosa and Marga Ortigas.

Ambassador Santos invited Al Jazeera to be an active media partner for Philippine tourism promotion. This led Al Jazeera to recognize PH’s initiative to develop its own halal tourism industry and proposed to meet with tourism and information officials to discuss tourism cooperation.

Al Jazeera noted that countries such as Turkey, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, and Indonesia experienced a spike in their tourism arrivals after advertising on both the English and Arabic platforms of Al Jazeera.

Ambassador Santos expressed the hope that a fruitful collaboration could be forged between the Philippines and Al Jazeera that will lead to a more robust number of tourists from the Arab region visiting the country. END