Philippine non-resident Ambassador to Rwanda Marie Charlotte Tang on Monday April 25 presented her credentials to President Paul Kagame at his office, the Village Urugwiro, in Kigali.
In a statement by Philippine Embassy in Nairobi on Monday, Ambassador Tang also conveyed President Rodrigo Duterte’s salutations to President Kagame and the Rwandese.
“She commended Rwanda’s successful efforts to contain Covid-19 and promote a post-pandemic economic recovery. She shared that the Philippines has recently enacted new landmark policies conducive for business and investments and expressed the hope for increased economic and people-to-people collaboration with Rwanda,” the statement said.
Ambassador Tang also congratulated Rwanda for co-initiating the resolution on creating an internationally legally binding instrument on plastic pollution adopted at fifth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly in March 2022 in Nairobi. She cited the landmark resolution, which the Philippines also co-sponsored, as a necessary step to end plastic pollution.
“President Kagame called the Philippines “a friend of Rwanda” and noted the considerable degree of familiarity between the two countries owing to the long years of people-to-people exchanges. He reaffirmed Rwanda’s interest to further strengthen its relations with the Philippines,” added the statement.
President Kagame also received the credentials of envoys from Chad, Namibia, Brazil, and Jamaica.
During her visit to Kigali, Ambassador Tang also met with Permanent Secretary Clementine Mukeka and Director General for Asia and Pacific Affairs Phillip Karenzi of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and discussed potential cooperation in tourism, culture, skills development, migration, and closer multilateral collaboration.
Ambassador Tang also met with the Filipino community based in Rwanda, some who have been in the country since the 1990s and had supported the rebuilding of the Rwandan society in the aftermath of the 1994 genocide.
The envoy assured them that the Philippine Embassy in Nairobi, in close coordination with Philippine Honorary Consul-designate to Rwanda Rachel Lynn Pineda Zirimwabagabo, stands ready to assist the 55 Filipino nationals in the country.
Staffers at the embassy in Nairobi and Zirimwabagabo also conducted a consular outreach mission in Kigali on Thursday, April 21.
Fervie Jay V. Brubio and Armaigne Grace C. Aquino handled passport, notarial, and other consular services to Filipinos in Rwanda.
“The Embassy team also encouraged the Filipino community to register in its online overseas Filipino mapping project. The mapping survey will provide the Embassy with valuable inputs to rationalize its programs and services to Filipinos in the 12 African countries under the Embassy’s jurisdiction,” the mission said in a statement.
The Filipinos in Rwanda are either working and/or residing in Rwanda mostly as professionals and skilled workers.
https://thebrief.co.ke/diplomats-corner/philippine-envoy-promote-cooperation-with-kenya-bilaterally-multilaterally/
