Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri, Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda and six other senators have left for France to meet with their French counterparts and discuss how to enhance the bilateral ties between the two nations.

“This meeting is an opportune time for us to assess our country’s strong ties with the French Republic and discuss how we can foster our friendship and cooperation, especially on areas that concern both the Philippines and France,” Legarda stated.

Matters relating to the environment, and the blue economy would be among the topics to be tackled in their meetings, she said.

She stressed that deliberating on the issues is timely and significant as these are connected to climate change, which remains a top global concern.

“Our visit to France is a chance for the Philippines to convey our vision, plans, and involvement in addressing global challenges such as climate change. Our country fully recognizes France’s steady allegiance to be a global leader in addressing the issue, and we are fully committed to supporting the Paris Agreement,” she added.

The Paris Agreement, also referred to as the Paris Climate Accord, is an international climate change treaty adopted in 2015 by members of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

In 2017, Legarda, who chaired the subcommittee on the Paris Agreement under the Senate committee on foreign relations, sponsored the Philippines’ concurrence in ratifying the agreement.

Aside from this, she also leads the Philippines into assenting to the High Ambition Coalition (HAC) for Nature and People after United States Senator Russell Feingold sought her guidance and leadership in bringing the Philippines to the HAC, an agreement started by France, among other nations.

“These are just some of the issues we intend to bring to the table during our meetings. The Philippines and France enjoy 75 years of fruitful and vibrant friendship and cooperation in various areas such as economy, defense, food security, and people-to-people relations, and these, too, are part of our agenda,” Legarda said.

“It is an honor to be part of the Philippine delegation once again, and I look forward to making our bilateral ties with France stronger,” she added.

The Philippine delegation is also meeting with the France-Southeast Asia Parliamentary Friendship Group led by its president, Senator Mathieu Darnaud.

Its Philippine counterpart, the Philippines-France Parliamentary Friendship Association, is led by Legarda, its founder and president.

Joining Zubiri and Legarda in the visit are Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva, Senate Deputy Majority Leader Joseph Victor Ejercito, and Senators Manuel Lapid, Maria Lourdes Binay, Grace Poe, and Christopher Lawrence ‘’Bong’’ Go.