President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has asked newly appointed diplomats to “continuously look for opportunities” for business partnerships abroad.
Marcos emphasized that partnerships between the Philippines and other countries should be looked into “whether or not they (the latter) are allies.”
The President issued the marching order to the newly appointed and confirmed ambassadors Thursday at the Palace. He urged them to step up their communication efforts in their postings.
“Whether or not they are friendly, nonetheless, it is very important that we continue to communicate, that we continue to engage, that we continue to have a way to explain what the Philippines is trying to do, how the Philippines sees its role in the community of nations,” Marcos told the envoys.
“I think it is important we now look and be very, very conscientious about finding opportunities for the Philippines that might be good for the country,” he added.
Diplomats, “as representatives of the Philippines,” must serve as “instruments” in helping the economy by inviting foreign investors to do business in the country, the President pointed out.
According to the Office of the Press Secretary, the envoys who were met by the President included Ambassador Grace Tolentino Cruz-Fabella for the Argentine Republic; Ambassador Jaime Victor Badillo Leda for the Kingdom of Belgium; and Ambassador Joseph Gerard Bacani Angeles for the Federative Republic of Brazil.
The President also appointed Ambassador Eduardo Martin Ramos Meñez for the Czech Republic; Ambassador Gina Alagon Jamoralin for the Republic of Indonesia; and Ambassador Pedro Ramirez Laylo Jr. for the State of Israel.
Also in the audience were Ambassador Nathaniel Garcia Imperial for the Italian Republic; Ambassador Mylene De Joya Garcia-Albano for Japan; Ambassador Wilfredo Cunanan Santos for the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan; Ambassador Lilybeth Rodriguez Deapera for the United Mexican States; Ambassador Lilibeth Velasco Pono for the State of Qatar; Ambassador Medardo Antonio Gonzales Macaraig for the Republic of Singapore; and Ambassador Alfonso Ferdinand Agbayani Ver for the United Arab Emirates.
“It is important that we have partners as we try to navigate out of this pandemic economy, out of the crisis that we have had to attend to and deal with as an effect of the Ukraine conflict.”
He touched anew on climate change and how diplomats can strike relationships between the Philippines and other countries in easing the effects of the climate crisis.
Mr. Marcos said the Philippines is particularly vulnerable to climate change’s devastating effects like more powerful typhoons visiting the country with alarming regularity, wreaking havoc.
The President pointed out that the country benefits from government-to-government and private sector-to-governments talks in enticing investments to come in.