24 December 2020, Ankara: Philippine Ambassador to Turkey, Raul S. Hernandez joined by his spouse, Madame Maria Ana Algabre Hernandez, receives a Plaque from Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu conveying appreciation for his contributions to TR-PH relations following a farewell call at the Foreign Ministry.

Ankara, 24 December 2020 - Philippine Ambassador to Turkey, Raul S. Hernandez paid a farewell call on Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu at the Foreign Ministry in Ankara. The meeting  was warm, friendly and allowed ample time for light exchanges and substantive discussions over Turkish coffee and Çay/tea. 

Ambassador Hernandez took the opportunity to thank personally FM Çavuşoğlu and the Turkish government for all the support extended to him, the Embassy and the Philippine government during his term. He acknowledged the robust relationship in political and defense areas of the bilateral relations and thanked Turkey’s active role in the Mindanao Peace Process, particularly as the Chair of the Independent Decommissioning Body (IDB) and support for the socio-economic development of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).  

Foreign Minister Cavusoglu reaffirmed Turkey’s commitment to  bolster relationship with the Philippines, including the country’s continued support in the Mindanao peace process. Likewise, he reiterated Turkey’s gratitude to the Philippines for its support to its engagement with ASEAN, emphasizing that the country was conferred the status of Sectoral Dialogue Partner during the Philippines’ Chairmanship of the ASEAN in 2017. He also conveyed his appreciation for Ambassador Hernandez’s active chairmanship of the ASEAN Ankara Committee (AAC) and his efforts to advance ASEAN-TR relations during the pandemic. 

Both officials agreed on the need to strengthen the bilateral relationships, especially in the economic field, noting that there are many opportunities that can be explored and worked on by both sides. 

Ambassador Hernandez informed the Foreign Minister that the former held a number of meetings with several Turkish chambers of commerce and industry and tourism organizations to promote trade, investments and tourism in the Philippines, and the responses were encouraging. 

They shared the view on the need to convene soonest next year, as soon as the pandemic situation improves, the 5th Philippines-Turkey Political Consultations in Ankara and the 2nd Philippines-Turkey Joint Committee on Economic and Technical Cooperation (JCETC) in Manila. 

Ambassador Hernandez will end his tour of duty as Philippine Ambassador to Turkey, with concurrent jurisdiction over Azerbaijan and Georgia, on 28 December 2020.  He was joined by his spouse, Madame Maria Ana Algabre Hernandez, in the farewell call on the Turkish Foreign Minister. - End