Day: March 18, 2022

SAN FRANCISCO– Boeing announced yesterday, its P-8A team and Spirit AeroSystems employees, have laid the keel beam for New Zealand’s first P-8A.

Laying the keel is an important production milestone, during the building of any ship or aircraft, and represents the cornerstone of this latest P-8, Boeing said.

This process was done at the Spirit AeroSystems facility, where all Boeing 737 fuselages, nacelles and pylons are designed and built.

The panel and other fuselage components will be completed on Spirit’s existing 737 production line. Spirit will ship the P-8A fuselage to a Boeing Commercial Airplanes facility in Renton, Washington, for final assembly, according to the announcement.

Boeing will install mission systems and complete testing prior to delivery to New Zealand later this year. New Zealand is one of P-8’s eight global customers, the announcement said.–

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

On March 17, 2022, Ambassador KOSHIKAWA Kazuhiko attended a ceremonial turnover of 300 metric tons of rice donation from Japan to the Typhoon Odette affected areas under the framework of the ASEAN Plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve (APTERR). Also present were National Food Authority Administrator Judy Carol L. Dansal, and Department of Social Welfare and Development Director Emmanuel Privado. The rice donation were received by Surigao del Norte Vice-Governor Eddie Gokiangkee, Jr. for distribution to their constituents who were victims of Typhoon Odette.

During the ceremony, Ambassador Koshikawa cited Japan as the biggest contributor of APTERR rice in the Philippines and stated that these rice stocks will immediately be dispatched to the affected families in Cebu, Bohol and Surigao del Norte in need of sustenance and hopefully serve as a source of revitalization.

The Ambassador affirmed that Japan would continue to make every possible effort to help Filipinos build back better in the aftermath of catastrophes. “Together, we will rise above each storm and attain regional food security, with the assurance that we have each other’s back,” he concluded.

APTERR is a regional cooperation started in 2012 to strengthen food security, poverty alleviation and malnourishment eradication among its member countries. In the Philippines, several thousand tons of stockpiled rice from Japan under APTERR were distributed to thousands of victims of devastating typhoons such as Yolanda in 2013, Ineng in 2015 and Jenny in 2019, among others. In 2020, Japan also provided 425 metric tons of rice to communities affected by the Taal Volcano eruption. Last year, pre-cooked rice were distributed to families affected by COVID-19 in Quezon City and the City of Manila as well as selected parts of Bulacan and Cavite under the APTERR.

Source: Government of Japan

VIENTIANE 17 March 2022 — In celebration of Women’s Month, the Philippine Embassy in Vientiane, headed by Ambassador Deena Joy D. Amatong, organized an exhibition featuring emerging Filipina artists at the Souphattra Serviced Apartments in Vientiane.

The opening reception was held on 16 March 2022 and was attended by special guest Madam Alounny Kommasith, Honorary President of the ASEAN Women’s Circle of Vientiane (AWCV) and spouse of Lao Minister of Foreign Affairs Saleumxay Kommasith, members of the diplomatic corps, members of the AWCV and Lao women entrepreneurs.

For its theme, the Philippine Embassy chose to juxtapose the “male gaze” – represented by female nudes by Filipino artists, including National Artists Vicente Manansala and H.R. Ocampo – against the “female gaze” and how young women view themselves today.

The Filipina artists, all under the age of 40, were invited to submit pieces that “represented women, without painting women as subjects”. The result is a variety of pieces, styles and media which even included an non-fungible token (NFT).

The twelve artists are Bea Aspiras, Tammy De Roca, Aly Kangleon, Mikhaela Marie, Kat Melo, Krista Nogueras, Yandra Po, Poula Sitjar, Paulina Luz Sotto, Jel Suarez, Chelsea Theodossis and crypto artist Squirterer.

The exhibition will run until 27 March 2022 and may be viewed online.

Source: Republic of Philippines Department Of Foreign Affairs

His Excellency, Minister Nasser Bourita, distinguished colleagues and members of the press, ladies and gentlemen, good morning.

It is my honor to accept the invitation of His Excellency Minister Nasser Bourita to make my first official visit to the Kingdom of Morocco as Philippines’ Secretary of Foreign Affairs. On behalf of the Philippine delegation, I express our appreciation for the warm welcome and gracious hospitality accorded us by the Kingdom of Morocco. In turn, we look forward to welcoming His Excellency Minister Bourita to the Philippines at a convenient time.

In this visit, we reaffirmed both sides’ keen interest to enhance opportunities for cooperation between our countries and our peoples.

We concluded agreements related to air services, cooperation between academic foreign institutes of our ministries, political consultations, as well as a cooperation agreement between the Philippine News Agency and the Maghred Arabe Presse. We also started political consultations today between our ministries.

We commend and appreciate the vision of progress set forth by the Kingdom of Morocco through its New Development Model, utilizing an advanced integrated comprehensive approach under the leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed VI. The Philippines also aims to promote development in our country so that each Filipino may enjoy a productive indeed prosperous life by 2040.

We had a productive discussion on issues that both the Philippines and Morocco are invested in; and explored the possibility of cooperation in bilateral and multilateral areas of common interest, including migration, climate change, counter-terrorism, peacekeeping, and maritime cooperation.

On the Sahara issue, we are steadfast in upholding the principle of sovereignty and sovereign equality of states enshrined in the UN Charter. All states enjoy the right to full sovereignty in all their areas of jurisdiction—in all their areas of jurisdiction I repeat. The UN Charter requires sovereign states to refrain from the use of force against the political independence and territorial integrity of any state. We are witnessing its violation elsewhere. We specially condemn—indeed I said at the UN, we abhor the use of separatism and secession as a weapon of diplomacy; they are the cruelest conflicts where neighbors turn on neighbors and know how to hurt each other most deeply. We witnessed the Balkans.

We look forward to stronger and fruitful relations between the Philippines and Morocco as we approach the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties in 2025. May both our countries live free, both our peoples stay safe, and all of us prosper. Thank you and good day.

Source: Republic of Philippines Department Of Foreign Affairs

(Hanoi) – From March 10 to March 11, 2022, the US-ASEAN Business Council (the Council) led a delegation of 13 U.S. companies on the 2022 Health & Life Sciences Mission to Vietnam, directly following the 2022 Vietnam Business Mission. The Council’s delegation met with government officials and key stakeholders across key ministries and agencies to discuss Vietnam’s healthcare system and COVID-19 recovery. The mission was co-led by the Council’s Senior Vice President & Regional Managing Director Ambassador Michael W. Michalak; and GE’s CEO and Chair of the Council’s Vietnam Committee Son Pham.

The 2022 HLS Mission also provided an opportunity for members to share updates on ongoing Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) the Council currently has with the Vietnam Ministry of Health (MOH) and Vietnam Social Security (VSS). Earlier in the week the Council also officially signed its MOU with VSS during the welcome reception for US Ambassador to Vietnam Marc Knapper, to support Vietnam’s social security and health insurance systems. The Council will host its 7th Joint Working Group meeting on the MOU with Vietnam MOH on a future date.

Other mission themes included supporting the government of Vietnam’s COVID-19 recovery strategy; discussing potential opportunities for collaboration with the Ministry of Health; and sharing global best practices and public-private partnership models to support the development of sustainable healthcare systems in Vietnam with improved access to innovative medical products.

“This year’s HLS missions comes at a valuable juncture as Vietnam prepares for a wider re-opening. It is important that any reopening is calibrated with proper health protocols for the safety of both local Vietnamese citizens and travelers” said Amb. Michalak. “Furthermore, the pandemic has shown us that ensuring continuity of care for non-COVID patients by ensuring access to innovative medicines and treatments in areas such as oncology is extremely important to overall healthcare system resilience.”

The mission kicked off with a briefing from the U.S. Embassy Hanoi. The delegation also met with cabinet members and senior members of the Vietnamese Government, including the Ministry of Health; Vietnam Social Security; the National Assembly Committee on Social Affairs; and K Hospital.

Companies in the Council’s delegation included: Abbott, Boston Scientific, DKSH Holdings, GE, GSK, Johnson & Johnson, Medtronic, MSD, Novartis, Organon, Pfizer, Roche, and Zuellig Pharma.

Source: US-ASEAN Business Council