MANILA: President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. is now on the second half of his two-country Central Europe visit, arriving in Czech Republic early Thursday after a three-day productive and successful working trip in Germany.
The plane carrying Marcos, First Lady Louise Araneta-Marcos and other members of the Philippine delegation landed at Vaclav Havel International Airport in Prague at 5:43 p.m. Wednesday (12:43 a.m. Thursday, Manila time), the Presidential Communications Office said.
While in Prague, Marcos will meet Czech Republic President Petr Pavel and three other constitutional heads, which include Prime Minister Petr Fiala, and the heads of the Czech Parliament — Senate President Miloš Vystrcil and the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Markéta Pekarová Adamová.
A Joint Communiqué on the establishment of labor consultation mechanisms to ensure the safe and orderly migration of Filipino workers and provide a higher level of protection of their rights and welfare is expected to be signed during Marcos’ v
isit.
The President’s four-day state visit is through the invitation of Pavel, and is in line with the commemoration of the 50th bilateral ties between the Philippines and Czech Republic since its establishment on October 5, 1973.
Productive Germany visit
Before leaving Berlin, President Marcos reported a ‘productive outcome’ of his three-day working visit to Germany, citing its economic and political impact as well as its importance to the country’s regional competitiveness and economic transformation.
The President said. his bilateral meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz covered issues concerning both countries, as well as the situation in Ukraine and the German leader’s upcoming visit to Russia and China.
Marcos said he is expecting good results from Scholz visits for securing peace in Eastern Europe and stability in the South China Sea.
The Chief Executive also reported about his fruitful discussions with top officials of German corporations, such as Bosch, Siemens, Airbus, and Lufthansa Techn
ik, who have expressed their intentions to continue investing in the Philippines.
‘It’s encouraging because once again – all of these different entities seemed to be confident in the Philippines economic condition,’ Marcos said, noting some of the German firms are already operating in the Philippines, and would want to expand their operations in the country.
‘And that is manifested by the fact that they are preparing to invest further and whatever. If they have production already, if they have already an operation in the Philippines, they tend to expand. So, we will follow on this and again, try to define government’s role in the transformation process that we went through,’ he added.
Source: Philippines News Agency
Hanoi: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has advised Vietnamese citizens not to travel to places where conflicts are taking place, its spokeswoman Pham Thu Hang said at the ministry’s regular press conference in Hanoi on March 14.
Responding to reporters’ question about citizen protection in Haiti amid the worsening security situation in this Caribbean country, she cited information from the Vietnamese Embassy in Cuba and Haiti as saying that the violence situation in Haiti is escalating rapidly and becoming extremely complex, resulting in many casualties.
In response to this situation, Hang said the embassy has adopted a number of citizen protection measures, including issuing safety guidelines on its official social media channels, assigning officials to be on round-the-clock duty to maintain regular contact with representatives of the Vietnamese community in Haiti for continuous information updates, and collaborating with local authorities and diplomatic missions in the area to take necessary citizen prote
ction measures.
According to the spokeswoman, there are currently about 70-80 Vietnamese nationals in Haiti, who have been all reported safe.
The Vietnamese citizens in the area were also advised to closely monitor the situation, take proactive measures to ensure their own safety, strictly follow the local regulations, or promptly contact the embassy and the ministry’s citizen protection hotline if assistance is needed.
Regarding the case of Vietnamese crewmembers working on the Barbados-flagged ship True Confidence which was attacked by Houthi forces in the Red Sea, Hang said the Vietnamese Embassy in Egypt and Djibouti has been closely working with local and domestic authorities, labourer dispatch company and the victim’s family to urgently carry out post-incident procedures for the deceased and bring the victim’s body back to Vietnam in line with his family’s wish.
She said that the ministry has also coordinated with Vietnamese representative agencies in relevant countries to expedite consular procedur
es and facilitate the prompt return of the remaining three crewmembers to Vietnam.
Extending heartfelt condolences to the family of the deceased, she said the ministry has been in discussions with domestic authorities and shipping companies employing Vietnamese labourers to ensure maximum safety for sailors and compliance with international warnings about dangerous and risky routes. It has directed representative agencies in conflict areas to continue monitoring and updating the security situation, and stay prepared to adopt citizen protection measures when needed./.
Source: Vietnam News Agency