16 May 2016 - A five-member team from the Philippine Embassy in Ankara visited Tbilisi, Georgia and Baku, Azerbaijan at the beginning of May.

In Tbilisi, Georgia, the Embassy team met with Deputy Minister David Jalagania of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to discuss Philippines-Georgia bilateral relations and pending matters. This was their first mission in the country for 2016.

The Embassy team provided consular services to Filipinos at the Consulate of the Philippines in Tbilisi, where they processed applications for ePassport renewal, yellow cards, and voter’s ID, as well as the release of overseas voting ballots. They extended their stay at Tbilisi for a day to accommodate more Filipinos in need of consular services. Aside from rendering consular services, the Embassy team also conducted preliminary market research in Tbilisi to identify possible Filipino products for export to Georgia.

The Team then visited Baku, Azerbaijan to conduct its second mission in the country for 2016, where they provided consular and election-related services to 46 clients in Azerbaijan. During the consular services, the team processed eight (8) e-passport applications, released 19 ePassports, processed one (1) notarial, and received 18 applications for Embassy ID registration for Filipinos in Azerbaijan. The team also provided ATN and consular advice to five (5) clients. On election-related transactions, the team received 11 accomplished ballots and released seven (7) voter’s IDs.

To strengthen cooperation between the Embassy and the State Migration Service (SMS) of Azerbaijan, the Team met with Firudin Hilal Oglu Nabiyev, Chief of the SMS, to discuss how to further strengthen cooperation in assisting Filipinos in need, and to help eliminate illegal recruitment, deployment, and human trafficking.

The Embassy Team also conducted market research in popular super markets in Baku to identify possible Filipino products for export to Azerbaijan. END