Philippines-Korea Society officially launched
ON THURSDAY, November 7, The Embassy of the Republic of Korea on November 7 invited key officials and experts from both countries’ governments, business community, media, and academe to launch the Philippines-Korea Society and held a Special Seminar on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Korea and the Philippines.
The seminar consisted of three sessions with each session’s presenters and discussants presenting substantial discussions on different themes, mainly political, economic, and academic exchanges.
The three sessions were: Political: “70th Year of ROK-PH Diplomatic Relations: Seeking a New Cooperation Paradigm for the Next 70 Year;” Economic: “Future Prosperity of 70 Years of ROK-PH Economic Cooperation;” and Academic exchanges and people-to-people exchanges: “ROK-PH Academic Exchanges and Cooperation.”
Distinguished guests from the Republic of Korea, including Chang Jae-bok, Ambassador of Public Diplomacy, South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lee Hyuk, Secretary General of the Asean-Korea Center, Kim Youngsun, former Ambassador to Indonesia, Choe Wongi, Professor of Center for Asean-India Studies, Korean National Diplomatic Academy, Eom Eunhui, Research Fellow of Seoul National University Asia Center, and the Philippines, including Ann Hofer, Chairperson of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, HOR, Meynardo L.B. Montealegre, Assistant Secretary for Asian and Pacific Affairs, DFA, Allan Gepty, Assistant Secretary of Department of Trade and Industry, Jonathan Uy, OIC-Undersecretary of National Economic and Development Authority, Danilo Concepcion, President of the University of the Philippines, J. Carlitos Cruz, Chairperson of SGV & Co., as well as around 110 participants from both countries attended the seminar.
In his welcoming remarks, Ambassador Han Dong-man emphasized that this seminar shows how far the relations between the two countries have developed since the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1949. He stated that with Philippines-Korea Society played a key role in bilateral relations and the friendship of the two countries would continue on firmly in the next 70 years.
From the Philippine government, DFA Assistant Secretary Meynardo Montealegre thanked the Korean Embassy and Ambassador HAN Dong-man for hosting the official launching of the Philippines-Korea Society and special seminar on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the Republic of Korea and the Philippines in his congratulatory remarks. He also highlighted that Korea is an important partner of the Philippines in areas such as economic, political, cultural, and academic sectors and expressed his hopes that the special friendship between the two countries will continue on.
The Philippines-Korea Society, which is a non-government organization officially launched by the fifteen founding members who are key individuals from the government, political arena, and business community, is expected to play a key role in building a public-private platform to increase exchanges and strengthen cooperation between the two countries.
Furthermore, on November 5, the Philippine Senate adopted a resolution congratulating the 2019 Asean-ROK Commemorative Summit and welcoming the visit of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte to Korea. The House of Representatives will soon be passing a resolution recognizing the importance of the 2019 ASEAN-ROK Commemorative Summit at the plenary session.