Phl, Canada sign pact on bilateral consultation

MANILA, Philippines - Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario signed on Friday with Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird a memorandum of understanding that formally launched the Philippines-Canada Joint Commission for Bilateral Consultation (JCBC).

The JCBC will provide the roadmap for cooperation between the two countries and chart the future course of their relations.

During their bilateral meeting, the two officials underscored the dynamic human link between the Philippines and Canada, represented by more than half a million Filipinos who live and work in Canada.

“The JCBC is a very important agreement, the first-ever between our two countries in its 62 years of diplomatic relations. This mechanism is designed to rev up the engine of our cooperation in the political, economic and social fields, especially at a time when Canada is intensifying its engagement with the Asia-Pacific region," Del Rosario said.

For his part, Baird expressed hope that “the JCBC is the beginning and not an end that will usher greater engagement on a wide range of issues, the most important of which is the people-to-people linkages.”

Del Rosario underscored the two countries' shared values and conveyed the Philippines' readiness to contribute more to Canada's expanding economy by meeting its growing human resource requirements.

The secretary also informed his counterpart that good governance under the Aquino administration translated to good economics and cited the 6.4 percent gross domestic product (GDP) growth for the first quarter of this year.

He noted that the Philippines moved up 10 notches in the World Economic Forum's global competitiveness report and is now a net creditor.

Canada has embarked on a stronger market presence in Asia, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in particular, which will become a common market when it transforms itself into an ASEAN Economic Community by 2015.

Baird said the "Philippines-Canada bilateral relationship remains vital, especially as Canada increases its engagement within Southeast Asia. For over 35 years, Canada has been a proud Dialogue Partner of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), of which the Philippines is a member-state."

This year marks the 35th anniversary of the establishment of ASEAN-Canada Dialogue Relations and Canada is organizing an ASEAN-Canada meeting at the ministerial level to decide on future directions of the dialogue partnership.

Del Rosario's visit to Ottawa, upon the invitation of Baird, marks the first visit of a Philippine foreign secretary to Canada in over a decade.

He was accompanied by Philippine Ambassador to Canada Leslie Gatan; Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Policy Erlinda Basilio; Assistant Secretary Patricia Ann Paez of the Department of Foreign Affairs' Office of American Affairs; Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Center executive director Cosette Canilao; DFA Office of American Affairs Director Senen Mangalile; deputy chief of mission Abraham Estavillo; minister and consul general Neil Frank Ferrer; first secretary and consul Eric Gerardo Tamayo; and first secretary and consul Flerida Ann Camille Mayo of the Philippine embassy in Ottawa.