Friendship Day 2022: Let’s skip to the good part

Over the course of my time as the Australian Ambassador to the Philippines, I have witnessed how strong bonds of friendship matter most during challenging circumstances. Friendships are key – not just among families, between individuals and communities, but between nations too.

We are lucky that the Philippines counts Australia among its closest friends. Through a Presidential Proclamation in 2016, May 22 of each year has been declared Philippines-Australia Friendship Day, a recognition that our enduring partnership is worth celebrating. Around this day each year, we mark our friendship with a variety of festivities, events and Filipino-Australian themed activities.

In previous years, we took Friendship Day festivities on the road to different cities across the Philippines, to Davao in 2018 and Cebu in 2019. The pandemic prevented us from gathering together in-person the last couple of years – but skipping to the good part, I am very delighted to be bringing back the celebrations to Manila.

From May 20 to 22, we will be hosting the Experience Australia festival in SM Megamall Mega Fashion Hall, featuring numerous Australian brands. This includes the Taste of Australia pop-up shops with world-class wine, sustainable meat, fresh fruits and healthy snacks. A highlight of the weekend fair will be the free program on Saturday, 21 May, featuring Filipino-Australian celebrities Diego Loyzaga, Teresa Loyzaga and Leila Alcasid.

Australia is ready to welcome back our friends, with borders reopening and more travel restrictions lifted; Qantas will be sharing information on traveling to Australia.

Education exchanges form a vital link between our countries, and Australia remains the top destination of choice among Filipino students. Representatives from Australia’s cutting-edge universities will also take part in the celebration to talk about valuable opportunities for Filipinos looking to study in Australia.

Regrettably, in two months, I will be concluding my posting as Ambassador to the Philippines. But over my time here, I have been delighted to see the bonds of our friendship grow stronger.

We continue to collaborate in many areas of long-established ties – including development, defense, economic-recovery, trade and investments, security cooperation and people-to-people links – with a shared vision to elevate our relationship into a Strategic Partnership.

Australia’s commitment to the Philippines as a friend will remain rock solid. We have stood by through good times and bad.

As one of the Philippines’ longstanding partners in development cooperation, Australia was one of the first countries to respond during the immediate aftermath of Typhoons Rolly and Odette. Emerging from the pandemic, we also remain steadfast in our commitment in helping our neighbors deliver safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines, including through vaccine procurement, end-to-end delivery support and health advice.

Gender equality is critical in the Philippines’ economic recovery and building a better normal. Over the last five years, Australia, through Investing in Women, has made 25 investments in women’s small and medium enterprises bringing in P195 million and creating almost 2,000 jobs across the country.

I am also very pleased about our continuing cooperation in areas of defense and security, which is built on mutual trust, shared values and a long history of engagement. I am proud that during my time as Ambassador we have established a permanent Joint Australia-Philippines military training program, continued military exchanges and ship visits despite the pandemic and expanded our cooperation across counter-terrorism into new areas such as civil maritime security and cyber.

Looking into the future, I am optimistic about our growing trade ties. Australia’s agri-food exports to the Philippines have increased with over 200 Australian agri-food companies exporting to the Philippines. Their products are widely available in supermarkets and e-commerce platforms like Robinsons, Landers, S&R, the Marketplace, SM and Lazada.

At the heart of all this are our strong people-to-people links. Wherever I go around the country – having been to 51 out of 81 provinces – I hear stories of Filipinos sharing their connections with Australia.

With all that said, it is clear Australia’s friendship with the Philippines is indeed broad and deep, with our shared values of mateship and bayanihan binding us closer together.

As we celebrate Philippines-Australia Friendship Day this year, it my hope that this event will continue to be a platform for Filipinos and Australians to unite, celebrate and reflect upon the journey we’ve been on as friends and partners for over 75 years.

Philippines-Australia Friendship Day 2022 is presented by the Australian Embassy in partnership with ANZ, Austal, Crone Architects, OceanaGold, Orica, Prime Metro BMD, Qantas, QBE, Telstra and VGTI.

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Steven J. Robinson AO is the Australian Ambassador to the Philippines. Follow him on Twitter @AusAmbPH.