Locsin visits Saudi Arabia, meets foreign minister and Filipino community

March 5, 2020

RIYADH – Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. paid an official visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from February 26-28, marking his first visit to the Kingdom as Secretary of Foreign Affairs.

He was accompanied by his wife, Maria Lourdes Locsin, and officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), which includes Undersecretary for Civilian Security and Consular Concerns Brigido Dulay, and Assistant Secretary for Middle East and African Affairs Leslie Baja.

During his visit, Locsin met with his counterpart, Prince Faisal Bin Farhan Al Saud, Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs, with whom he discussed the strong bilateral relationship between the Philippines and Saudi Arabia.

During their meeting, Locsin underscored the need to maintain and strengthen the friendship between the two countries as they observe 50 years of diplomatic relations.

Locsin also paid a visit to the Official Chancery of the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh, where he and Philippine Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Adnan Alonto led the groundbreaking rites for the Embassy’s Multi-purpose Hall.

DFA and Embassy officials, as well as the all-Filipino members of the Technical Committee for the Construction of the Embassy Multi-purpose Hall joined Locsin and Alonto during the groundbreaking ceremony, while Saudi-based Filipino social media groups covered the event.

In his remarks during the groundbreaking event, Locsin lauded the construction of the Multi-purpose Hall, saying its completion would benefit many Overseas Filipinos based in the Kingdom by giving them a venue for many of their activities, such as training, skills-upgrading and the holding of licensure examinations.

Locsin commended Alonto for managing to secure the funding for the Hall’s construction, despite it not being included in the initial budget of the DFA as approved by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).

Alonto for his part, said the funding for the Multi-purpose Hall would not have been secured without the representations made by former Secretary of Foreign Affairs and now Speaker of the House of Representatives Alan Peter  Cayetano, who added the budget for the Hall’s construction as a congressional insertion in the 2020 General Appropriations Act (GAA).

Locsin also paid a visit to the Embassy’s shelters for distressed female Overseas Filipino Workers, where he took the time to listen to the concerns of the female wards, and assuring them of the Philippine Government’s full support in addressing their problems.

Finally, Locsin met with representatives of the various Filipino community organizations in Riyadh during a luncheon meeting held at the Marriot Hotel in the Diplomatic Quarter.

In his remarks during the event, the Secretary shared with the Filipino community the mandate he received from President Rodrigo Duterte when the latter appointed him as Secretary of Foreign Affairs, which was to take care of the interests and wellbeing of overseas Filipinos.

He said that many Filipinos are forced to work overseas because of the lack of opportunities back home in the Philippines, and that he regularly emphasizes this during the President’s Cabinet Meetings.

Locsin also entertained questions from the Filipino community, answering queries on the DFA’s various initiatives and programs, such as the ongoing repatriation of Filipino workers from Iraq and China, as well as upcoming efforts to improve the delivery of consular and Assistance-to-Nationals (ATN) services in the Kingdom.

Before leaving, Locsin thanked the Filipino community leaders for taking the time to meet with him and air their concerns. He once again gave his assurances of the Philippine Government’s full support for the Filipino Workers in Saudi Arabia, in order to protect and promote their rights and welfare in the Kingdom. DMS