ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Embassies at Work devider BIDTI Sri Lanka and FSI Philippines ink MOU on bilateral cooperation

BIDTI Sri Lanka and FSI Philippines ink MOU on bilateral cooperation

Published May 19, 2025 08:17 am
FSI Director General Francisco Noel R. Fernandez III, Embassy of Sri Lanka Attaché Nilmini Weerasinghe, Ambassador Dr. Chanaka Talpahewa, Secretary Enrique A. Manalo, DFA Undersecretary Ma. Hellen B. De La Vega, and DFA Chief Coordinator-Office of the Secretary Bernadette Fernandez
FSI Director General Francisco Noel R. Fernandez III, Embassy of Sri Lanka Attaché Nilmini Weerasinghe, Ambassador Dr. Chanaka Talpahewa, Secretary Enrique A. Manalo, DFA Undersecretary Ma. Hellen B. De La Vega, and DFA Chief Coordinator-Office of the Secretary Bernadette Fernandez
Sri Lankan Ambassador to the Philippines Dr. Chanaka Talpahewa and Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique A. Manalo signing the Memorandum of Understanding between BIDTI and FSI
Sri Lankan Ambassador to the Philippines Dr. Chanaka Talpahewa and Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique A. Manalo signing the Memorandum of Understanding between BIDTI and FSI
After the signing and exchanging of MoUs
After the signing and exchanging of MoUs
On April 22, the memorandum of understanding on cooperation between the Bandaranaike International Diplomatic Training Institute (BIDTI) of Sri Lanka and the Foreign Service Institute (FSI) of the Philippines, the premier diplomatic training institutions in the two countries, was signed at the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) of the Philippines in Pasay City.
Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs Secretary and Chairperson of the FSI Board Enrique A. Manalo and Ambassador of the Sri Lanka Embassy H.E. Dr. Chanaka Talpahewa signed the MOU on behalf of their respective institutions.
Both Secretary Manalo and Ambassador Talpahewa, in their remarks, reaffirmed their commitment to elevate and strengthen cooperation in the field of diplomatic training for the mutual benefit of Sri Lanka and the Philippines. They expressed confidence that this MOU will be actively implemented by the two parties.
Ambassador Talpahewa thanked Secretary Manalo for making the time to sign the MOU, which he described as a testimonial to the importance attached by the Philippines to the warm and friendly relations that exist between the two countries. He also thanked FSI Director General Francisco Noel R. Fernandez III for the support given toward the early finalization of the MOU, which had been under discussion since 2018.
Those witnessing the signing ceremony included FSI Director General Francisco Noel R. Fernandez III; DFA Undersecretary (Deputy Minister) for Administration Ma. Hellen B. De La Vega; DFA Chief Coordinator, Office of the Secretary, Bernadette Fernandez; DFA Human Resources Management Office Executive Director Greg Marie C. Mariño; DFA Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary and Executive Director of the Office of Asian and Pacific Affairs Rona Beth G. Goce; DFA officials from the Office of the Secretary and FSI; and officials of the Embassy of Sri Lanka in the Philippines.
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.