Philippines, Russia ink several agreements

May 25, 2017

The Philippines and Russia have signed several agreements related to tourism, agriculture, defense cooperation, trade and industry, foreign affairs, transportation, culture and the arts, and energy, Malacanang said on Thursday. The signing of the agreement  pushed through on May 24 even without President Rodrigo Duterte, who had to cut short his trip to Moscow following violence in Marawi City involving the Maute Group that raised the ISIS flag. "In fact, I think we covered everything that should have been covered in their bilateral meeting plus other matters that came up because of the terror threats not only in the Philippines or the threat of terrorism but also because of the extensive experience, expertise and knowledge and best practices of the Russian Federation in dealing with ISIS and terrorism,” said Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano, who was left in Moscow along with some other Cabinet officials. The Palace statement said Tourism Secretary Wanda Teo, on behalf of the Philippine government, inked the Joint Action Program for  2017-2019 to promote tourism and exhange of best practices between the two countries. The Philippines is eying to attract part of the three million Russian tourists who travel to Southeast Asia every year. Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol signed a memorandum of understanding with the Russian Federation’s Ministry of Agriculture to bring about food security in the Philippines through cooperation and through research in agriculture and fisheries, livestock breeding, processing, and transportation and storage of agriculture and fishery products and other agricultural products. Cayetano signed the defense cooperation to expand exchanges in terms of training, seminars and best practices between the two countries, with the end to develop relations in the field of military education, including military medicine, military history, sports, and culture as well as experiences in consultation, observer participation in military training exercises, and military port calls. Cayetano also signed two more agreements, namely, the agreement on cooperation on transportation between the Department of Transportation and Russia's Ministry of Transportation; and the protocol on cooperation between the National Commission for Culture and the Arts of the Philippines and Russia's Ministry of Culture. The first is an endeavor to exchange technology and best practices in transportation, with Russia rendering support and technical assistance through exchange of experience and knowledge in transport area, as well as cooperation in the framework of research projects and educational visits. The second intends to promote participation in international film and art festivals held in each other’s countries, as well as exchange of music, circus, dance and theater groups or individual artist “to build closer ties in the area of culture and history.” Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez signed two agreements - the memorandum of intent between the Department of Trade and Industry of the Philippines and the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia to foster mutually beneficial trade and investment cooperation between the two countries, and the memorandum of understanding on cooperation in industry development related to the products and technologies intended to strengthen the industries of both countries. Science and Technology Secretary Fortunato dela Peña inked a memorandum of agreement on the use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. “The general purpose of this agreement is to develop cooperation in the area of peaceful use of atomic energy in accordance with domestic laws, rules and regulations and, of course, international agreements that govern the peaceful use of atomic energy,” the statement said, quoting Philippine Ambassador to Russia Carlos Sorreta. Cayetano, during his talk with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, said, "We will look forward and make preparations to welcoming Prime Minister (Dmitry) Medvedev in the Manila in November of this year for the East Asia Summit." (Celerina Monte/DMS)