The Philippines eyes enhanced diplomatic relations with Finland following the reopening of the Finnish Embassy in Manila after a hiatus of more than eight years.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. met Finnish Ambassador Juha Markus Pyykkö who paid a courtesy call on Locsin over the weekend, two days after Pyykkö presented his credentials to President Duterte in Malacañang.
They discussed several areas of cooperation ranging from the economic aspects of Philippines-Finland relations, tourism and education cooperation, as well as other regional and international issues.
Pyykkö is the first resident Ambassador of Finland to the Philippines since Finland closed its embassy in Manila in 2012.
Finland was represented in the Philippines by its non-resident ambassador based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia since 2012.
Meanwhile, Manila and Madrid concluded the 5th Philippines and Spain Political Consultations that enabled both sides to renew their commitment to deepening their long-standing historical ties in key areas of political, security, economic, cultural, and development cooperation.
Led by Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Policy Ambassador Elizabeth Buensuceso and Spanish State Secretary for Foreign Affairs and for Ibero-America and the Caribbean Cristina Gallach Figueras, the meeting focused on expanding cultural and education linkages between the two countries, including the 2021 Quincentennial Commemorations in the Philippines.
Both sides are also establishing two joint working groups on the existing Tourism Cooperation Agreement, trade, and investment initiatives, as well as approving bilateral agreements to expand defense and security, development assistance, and various kinds of cooperation ranging from educational, cultural, people-to-people, economic and financial, and social security.
They likewise agreed to deepen ASEAN-EU relations as the Philippines assumes its role as country coordinator of ASEAN-EU relations in 2021.
Climate change, biodiversity, poverty eradication, and women empowerment were identified as high priority cooperation areas in the context of ASEAN-EU engagement.