Press Release No.. 012-03
10 January 2003
OPLE HEADS PHILIPPINE DELEGATION TO TEHRAN

Foreign Secretary Blas F. Ople is leading a Philippine delegation to the Third Philippines-Iran Joint Commission Meeting  which will be held in Tehran  from 13 to 17 January 2003.

In Tehran, Ople will meet with Iranian President Mohammad Khatami, former President Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who is now the Chairman of the State of Expediency Council,   Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazzi, and  Speaker of the Iranian Majlis (National Assembly) Mehdi Karroubi.

He will also have one-on-one talks with Commerce Minister Mohammad Shariatmadari,  and Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zarganeh.

Established in October 1994, through a Memorandum of Understanding signed by then Foreign Secretary Roberto R. Romulo and his Iranian counterpart Ali Akbar Velayati,  the  Philippines-Iran Joint Commission  meets at the ministerial level to discuss bilateral economic cooperation concerns.  Such concerns include trade and investment, agriculture and fisheries, oil,  energy, and petrochemicals,  shipping, banking, drugs control, environmental protection,  science and technology,  culture and sports.

The first Philippines-Iran JCM  first met in Tehran in March 1995 during the State Visit to Iran of then  President Fidel V. Ramos. The second JCM was held in Manila in February 1998.  Iran sent a 21-member high-level delegation led by its Minister of Commerce.

The third JCM in Tehran next week aims to draw a Plan of Action to hasten the implementation of existing Philippines-Iran Memoranda of Understanding in various fields.

The Philippine delegation will seek, among other bilateral concerns, the assurance of Iranian oil supply  in the event of the outbreak of hostilities in the Middle East. Iran is the Philippines’ second biggest petroleum supplier, next to Saudi Arabia.  

The Philippines is also considering the possibility of making Iran a key transshipment point for exports to Central Asia.  As of August 2002, Iran ranked third among Philippine trading partners in the Middle East and the 13th biggest among our export markets.

The Philippines and Iran are considering various joint-venture projects in the areas of energy and petrochemicals, including a partnership arrangement between the Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC) and the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) for the establishment of a Philippine-Iranian Oil Storage Facility in the Philippines.

The Philippines and Iran have supported each other’s concerns in the United Nations and other international agencies, particularly on issues related to human rights, drug trafficking,  environmental protection, and terrorism.

Iran was one of the first countries to express its support of the Philippine bid for a  seat in the United Nations Security Council for the term 2004-2005.

In the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), Iran has been among the most supportive of Philippine participation in OIC meetings, including the possibility of granting the Philippine Government observer status in the Organization.