Your Excellencies, Ambassador Peter Beckingham and Ambassador Jorge Rey Jimenez
Members of the Diplomatic Corps,
Honored guests, ladies and gentlemen, friends:

Good Afternoon,

It is always a great pleasure to welcome new colleagues to our diplomatic community here in Manila, although I must admit that this is an innovation as previous practice was for the Secretary of Foreign Affairs to only host departing envoys.   I decided that there was more value to providing Ambassadors with a taste of Filipino hospitality at the start of their tours of duty, and to introduce them to key personalities with whom they will interact in the course of their duties in the Philippines.

Ambassador Beckingham comes to his new post at a time when relations between the Philippines and the UK can be said to be at a new peak.

Our close ties of friendship and cooperation manifest themselves in multilateral fora like the United Nations (UN), and inter-regionally through the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) and the European Union (EU) whose presidency the UK will assume in July.   At the UN, consensus building is a daily undertaking between our Permanent Representatives as the Philippines serves its term as a Non-permanent Security Council member.  In ASEM, we have co-sponsored important initiatives such as that on Child Welfare – an issue which, by the way, is also of importance between the UK and Cuba.

Bilaterally, the United Kingdom has become one of the Philippines’ most important European partners, especially in terms of trade and investment.   Political and security issues are also covered through sponsorship of training programs for our police on areas like transnational crime and terrorism, as well as by active UK support, for the development of Mindanao through participation in the Multi-Donor Trust Fund.

I am confident that with Ambassador Beckingham’s sterling qualifications and wealth of experience, an even closer and more productive partnership between our two countries will be forthcoming.

The Philippines and Cuba share a link through our history with Spain and the year 1898, and this bond has served as a common point of reference for our relations on the international plane.   Our two countries have often pursued similar interests as developing countries in the international fora through the Non-Aligned Movement and G-77, and I am sure that this cooperation will continue in the future.

On an inter-regional basis, our two countries have been actively involved in the Forum for East Asia and Latin America Cooperation (FEALAC) on which Ambassador Jimenez is an expert.   In fact, he is no stranger to Southeast Asia having previously served in Indonesia and Vietnam before his posting as Ambassador to Manila.

It is then no wonder that despite his recent arrival in January, he has already been able to successfully convince the Philippine House of Representatives to consider and pass in record time a Resolution establishing a “Philippines-Cuba Parliamentarians Friendship Society” last March 15.   For future reference, Ambassador Beckingham may wish to confer with Ambassador Jimenez on how to deal with our members of Congress.

We Filipinos take pride in our hospitality, and hewing to that tradition, through this luncheon I wish to formally welcome our honored Ambassadors to their new home for the next few years, the Philippines.

Excellencies, on behalf of the Department of Foreign Affairs, please accept our warmest welcome, and you may be assured of our support and cooperation in your mission to further enhance the ties that bind your countries and the Philippines.

On this note, may I invite Your Excellencies, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, to join me in a toast:

1. To the productive and meaningful tours of duty of Ambassador Peter Beckingham and Ambassador Jorge Rey Jimenez; and
2. To the enduring friendship of the Filipino, British and Cuban peoples.

Mabuhay!