The Philippines and Denmark have agreed to work on re-skilling and up-skilling Filipino seafarers as Copenhagen has already expressed its support for Manila’s efforts to comply with European standards for seafarers.
This developed as Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo met with Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen on Monday, Dec. 9, as they identified avenues to follow through both countries’ actions on maritime industry.
In December 2022, Danish Ambassador to Manila Franz-Michael Melbin already said that Denmark would be backing the Philippines' goal to achieve global standards as it values the role of Filipinos in the global maritime industry.
Melbin also said that Danish shipping firms are major employers of Filipino seafarers.
Aside from working on maritime industry, Manalo and Rasmussen agreed to accelerate the development and deployment of renewable energy sources as well as have some coast guard-to-coast guard engagement.
"Noting Denmark’s need for healthcare workers, we agreed to work together towards a bilateral agreement that would ensure fair, ethical recruitment, as well as sustainable education and training of Filipino healthcare workers," Manalo said in a statement.
Manila and Copenhagen also discussed the possibility of having a dedicated venue to discuss in detail specific cooperation activities to further promote closer trade and investment ties, as well as other sectoral cooperation between our countries.
"As we anticipate celebrating eight decades of bilateral relations, we will continue to work on these towards the goal of reaching the full potential of our bilateral relations," Manalo said.
"This common goal was reinforced with the signing last week of the Memorandum of Understanding on Health Cooperation between the Philippines and Denmark, and the earlier signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Department of Information and Communications Technology and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark on Information and Communications Technology Cooperation," he added.