By Roy Mabasa
The Philippines and Colombia have just concluded their 4th Bilateral Consultation Mechanism (BCM) meeting as both sides agreed to enhance cooperation in areas such as security, climate change, culture, tourism, and sports, among others.
(MANILA BULLETIN)
Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Policy Enrique Manalo and Colombian Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Luz Stella Jara led their respective delegations at the resumption of the BCM in Manila last week.
In the meeting, the Philippines welcomed the recent opening of the Embassy of Colombia in Manila and conveyed its willingness to consider opening the Philippine Embassy in Colombia.
“The two countries reaffirmed their excellent bilateral ties and agreed to enhance cooperation across a broad range of areas, such as security; climate change and disaster risk reduction and management; promoting culture, tourism, and sports; exchanging research and study opportunities through the Foreign Service Institute; and addressing consular issues,” the DFA said in a statement on Wednesday.
Also, the two sides agreed to pursue negotiations on the pending agreements on the environment, disaster risk reduction and management, and visa waiver, and agreed to formalize the exchange programs for the youth thru a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
They likewise committed to deepen the two countries’ bilateral economic cooperation by exploring trade and investment opportunities in sectors such as information technology and business process outsourcing, Orange Economy, electrical products, and creative industries.
As part of the wide-ranging discussions, the Philippines and Colombia exchanged views on regional developments in Asia and Latin America including updates on Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and the Pacific Alliance.
They agreed on the need to sustain cooperation in multilateral and inter-regional fora, such as the Forum for East Asia-Latin America Cooperation (FEALAC), and the United Nations.
The 5th Philippines-Colombia will convene in Bogota next year.