The Honorable  Charge d’Affaires  Mr. Ahmed Mohammed Al-Mannai
Papal Nuncio & Dean of the Diplomatic Corps,
H.E.  Msgr.  Antonio Franco,
Excellencies of the Diplomatic and Consular Corps,
Honored Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen:

On behalf  of  H.E. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo   and  the Filipino People,  it is my great honor and privilege to  personally  extend my  congratulations  to the  Government  and  the people  of the State of Qatar  as  they  celebrate their National  Day.

Diplomatic relations  between the Philippines and the State  of Qatar  have existed  since  05 May  1981,  and may be characterized as strong and cordial.

This   can   be gleaned  from   the important     exchanges  of  visits  between  the  representatives of  our countries,  foremost  of which  was the State Visit of then  President  Fidel V. Ramos  in March  1997  through the invitation of  the Amir of Qatar,  Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani  and  the visit to Qatar  of  Ambassador Amable R. Aguiluz V, Special Envoy to the GCC-member states in May 2003.

During   President Ramos’ visit  to Qatar,  four (4)  important  agreements and MOUs were  signed,  namely:  Agreement  on Economic, Commercial,  and Technical  Cooperation;    Agreement   Concerning  Filipino Manpower; MOU  for the Establishment  of Joint  Ministerial  Commission  for Bilateral Cooperation  between the Department of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines  and  the  Qatari  Ministry  of Foreign Affairs;  and the Resumption  of Air Services Agreement.

Indeed, the economic  relations between the Philippines and the State of Qatar  have also significantly  grown during the recent years. I am pleased to note that negotiations of bilateral agreements namely, the Agreement on the Avoidance of Double Taxation and Investment Agreement, which are now all ready for signing, were actively pursued. Qatar’s initiative of forging cooperation in the fields of tourism and health is now under consideration.

The conferment  on  former   Ambassador H.E. Ibrahim Abdulrahman Al-Meghaiseeb of the Order of Sikatuna with the rank of Datu by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was in recognition of His Excellency’s initiatives to further enhance and strengthen bilateral relations between the Philippines and Qatar during His Excellency’s  tour-of-duty in Manila.

I would like to reiterate  my appreciation for the  Embassy’s efforts in facilitating the   visits to Qatar  in  June 2005 by  Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo during the 2nd South Summit,   in 2004  by  the   Human Rights Commissioner Lourdes Quisumbing,  and    my  own  visit  to  Qatar in December 2003.

I also  wish to thank your country  for  the strong    support  which helped  make  the  Philippine  bid for a non-permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council  a  reality.   I am   likewise  grateful  for the  continued  support  of  the  State of Qatar   for  the    Philippine bid for an observer seat in the Organization of Islamic Conference,  which,  hopefully  would  be  granted  in  the Special  Summit  this coming  December  2005  or  the 33rd  Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers  in Azerbaijan.

I fervently hope that the  incoming  Ambassador  of  Qatar  to Manila  H.E. Abdullah Al-Muttawa,  will  continue the efforts   made   by   former  Ambassador  Al-Meghaiseeb  to  further  invigorate  the warm friendship  and  cooperation  between  our two countries  and peoples.

Thank you,  and  MABUHAY!