Ambassador Renée Veyret,
Excellencies,
Distinguished Guests,
Friends:

Bonjour!

This is the time to also thank France.  I was the Secretary of the Budget then in the Administration of President Aquino, and I remember that France was among the first countries to greet, congratulate and recognize President Aquino, and in talking to the good Ambassador, she also told me that at the 200th Anniversary of the Birth of the French Nation in 1989, the only Head of State that the President of France invited was President Aquino.  We again thank you for remembering.  France, of course, the land of égalité, fraternité, and liberté.

It is with great pleasure that I host this luncheon for Ambassador Renée Veyret who is ending her tour of duty as the Ambassador of France to the Philippines.  The Department of Foreign Affairs and the diplomatic and business communities in Manila have shared three wonderful years with the good Ambassador, and I am sure that we will all miss her.

I wish to congratulate and express our appreciation to Ambassador Veyret for her highly commendable efforts to enhance the relations between our two countries since she assumed her post in May 2002.

It was during Ambassador Veyret’s term that the Philippine-France Protocol in Financial Cooperation was signed, raising prospects for improved living conditions in the countryside.  This Protocol aims to provide adequate and reliable energy services to more than 180,000 households in Masbate through the extension of a thirty million dollar loan to the Philippine Rural Electrification Service.

We look forward to implementing this Protocol and we have Ambassador Veyret to thank for literally making people’s lives much brighter in Masbate.

We also thank Ambassador Veyret for France’s presence during times of great distress for our people.  I reiterate our appreciation for the French Government’s assistance to the typhoon victims in Quezon province.

Philippine trade with France has been in the upswing since 2003.  These are all during the term of Madame Ambassador.  France remains to be among the top ten investors in the country.  I am very positive that this trend will continue especially after the successful visit of the French Minister Delegate for Trade, Mr. François Loos in March this year.  He brought with him 20 distinguished members of the French Business Confederation who saw for themselves the investment potentials in the Philippines.

Ambassador Veyret’s accomplishments in the field of culture and arts are also praiseworthy.  The annual French Spring Festival in June attracts thousands of locals and affords a deeper insight into French culture through film, theater, dance and music.

Interest in promoting cultural understanding between our two countries is sustained with cooperation in language training and various university exchanges through the French Embassy and Alliance Française.  We hope that our peoples will continue to draw mutual inspiration through heightened and shared artistic and cultural experiences.

In fashion, France is also among the leaders.  That’s why I remember the story about the State Visit of President Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy to France during the time of President de Gaulle.  The center of attraction was not President Kennedy but Jacqueline Kennedy, and so a reporter asked President Kennedy, “you are the President, you are the Guest, but your wife is the center of attraction.”  President Kennedy said “Yes, and I’m her escort. That’s why I’m here.”

We are pleased with the intensification of joint endeavors in science and research.  Panglao, Bohol was one of the chosen sites of a Pacific-wide study by the French National Museum of Natural History funded by the French Foreign Ministry.  We hope we will continue to learn more of the wonders of Philippine biodiversity together.  Which reminds me that during the official visit of President Ramos in France, there was this exhibit of the boat San Diego, which was salvaged from the Philippines, and that was one of the highlights of President Ramos’ visit.  The Secretary of Finance then was Secretary Deocampo – I believe he was with us – and we were there and we were very proud of the prominence that France and the French press gave the San Diego.

As Ambassador Veyret ends her tour of duty in the Philippines, there are indeed so many fond and warm memories to look back on.  But there is also much in the future we can look forward to.  I am sure that when Ambassador Veyret returns to Paris to assume another responsibility in the French Foreign Ministry, she will continue to support the strengthening of Philippine-French relations.

On this note, may I now invite everyone to join me in a toast, and here I do it with caution: à la santé et le succès du Président Jacques Chirac et de l’Ambassadeur Veyret and to the close friendship and cooperation between the Philippines and France.

Merci beaucoup and Mabuhay!

END