Three foreign diplomats recently visited new Senate President Francis Escudero to further strengthen mutual defense cooperation with the Philippines.
Those who paid a courtesy call to Escudero in the Senate were new Japan Ambassador to the Philippines Endo Kazuya, Swedish Ambassador Annika Thunborg and New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and New Zealand Ambassador to the Philippines Catherine Rosemary McIntosh.
Escudero and Kazuya cited the robust and active friendship of the Philippines and Japan for more than 60 years.
The Senate leader told Endo that the Philippines is open to facilitate reciprocal visits and logistical support cooperation between Japan and the Philippines.
The two leaders discussed maximizing the benefits of the Philippines-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (PJEPA) by expanding the Japanese language training program to include not only Filipino healthcare workers but other skilled workers as well, who intend to work in Japan.
Escudero further conveyed the Philippines’ commitment to improve the country’s business and investment climate for foreign companies – including Japanese companies.
He said this can be realized through the passage of the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE MORE) Act.
Thunborg who congratulated the Senate President on his election, apprised him on the growing defense cooperation between the Philippines and Sweden.
As she expressed the strong interest of Swedish companies to invest in the Philippines, Escudero assured her of the Philippine Senate’s commitment to improve the country’s investment climate.
They also discussed the need for reform in the United Nations and the state of international geopolitics where they both agreed on the importance of alliances and the ability to quickly adapt to an ever-changing world.
Peters and McIntosh discussed how to further enhance cooperation across various fields which include defense and security in the region, economy, people-to-people linkages and inter parliamentary relations, in anticipation of the 60th Anniversary of diplomatic relations in 2026.
The Deputy Prime Minister said that inter-parliamentary cooperation can be further boosted through both parliaments’ existing friendship groups which have remained active in recent years. Escudero thanked New Zealand for all its assistance to the Philippines and expressed support of the possible Status of Visiting Forces Agreement (SOVFA) which the Philippines and New Zealand may enter into in the future.
