Four foreign diplomats on Monday, Nov. 7, paid courtesy visits to Vice President Sara Duterte to discuss continued relations and possible future cooperations with the Philippines.
These were Bangladeshi Ambassador F.M. Borhan Uddin, Egyptian Ambassador Ahmed Shehabeldin, Israeli Ambassador Ilan Fluss, and Australian Ambassador Hae Kyong Yu.
Their separate courtesy calls were held at the Office of the Vice President (OVP) at the Robinsons Cybergate Plaza in Mandaluyong City.
During her meeting with Uddin, Duterte said they discussed about the recent developments in Bangladesh’s industries, trade and investments, and education sector.
At the same time, he highlighted the historic relationship between the Philippines and Bangladesh, the former being one of the first countries to recognize their independence in 1971.
“Ang Pilipinas at Bangladesh ay nagdiriwang ng ika-50 taon ng (The Philippines and Bangladesh are celebrating their 50th) diplomatic relations,” she said in a Facebook post.
The Vice President said Shehabeldin shared his recommendations, particularly the importance of investments on information technology to expand access to education.
In a meeting with Fluss, Duterte learned the initiatives of Israel in the areas of agriculture, water management, technology and innovation, and defense in the country, especially in Mindanao.
“Personal tayong nagpasalamat kay (We personally thanked) Israeli Ambassador Ilan Fluss sa tulong na ipinaabot ng kanilang pamahalaan sa Mindanao (for the help their government had provided for Mindanao), she said in a separate post, referring to Israel’s assistance in agriculture, management, technology and innovation, and defense.
Fluss also expressed his hope to further strengthen bilateral relations between the Philippines and Israel through other partnerships in areas of common interest to both countries.
The Philippines and Israel are celebrating 65 years of bilateral relations.
Yu, for her part, also expressed her intention to work closely with the Philippines, recognizing its bilateral relations with Australia with education as one of the priority prograns.
She likewise informed the Vice President of ongoing projects of Australia in the Philippines in the sectors of peace, women, youth, and disaster response.
Duterte, who serves as the Department of Education (DepEd) in a concurrent capacity, shared to the foreign envoys the Basic Education Development Plan (BEDP) 2030 — a long-term plan that aims to resolve learning and performance gaps in the education sector to heighten the quality of the country’s basic education.