Singapore, 7 February – Foreign Affairs Secretary Delia Domingo Albert today called on Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong at the Istana, the equivalent of Malacañang Palace in the Philippines. They exchanged views on the regional situation and political developments in their home countries.

“Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong and I today had a fruitful discussion on current developments in the region as well as in our respective countries. He expressed interest in the coming presidential elections in the Philippines while providing insights into the workings of the parliamentary system as practiced by Singapore, “ Secretary Albert said.

“We also discussed the concern by countries in the region over the rise of religious extremism and the threat it poses to regional stability. I conveyed to him my view that a way to counter this threat is to hold a dialogue among nations with different cultures and religions. This will help to prevent misunderstandings and result in gaining a better appreciation and tolerance of other cultures and religions,” she said.

The Philippines held a bilateral conference on “Dialogue Among Civilizations” with Iran in August last year. The landmark conference, the first forum of its kind hosted by the DFA, resulted in the adoption of the Makati Declaration while endorsing the Philippine initiative for the establishment of an inter-faith council in the United Nations.

Earlier, Secretary Albert called on her Singaporean counterpart, Prof. S. Jayakumar, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The two senior diplomats observed that the Philippines and Singapore enjoy a healthy political and economic relationship marked by close cooperation in many areas of mutual interest. They also agreed to keep the momentum going in undertaking initiatives, bilaterally and multilaterally, to counter terrorism.

“Foreign Minister S. Jayakumar and I agreed today that our two countries should join hands in fighting terrorism at the bilateral level, where continued cooperation in information exchange and law enforcement measures have led to the identification and neutralization of terrorist threats. We also recognized the need for both our countries to continue to actively participate in multilateral initiatives to counter terrorism, including exploring cooperation under the framework of the Agreement on Information Exchange and the Establishment of Communication Procedures, “ she said.

After her courtesy calls, Secretary Albert proceeded to the Philippine Embassy in Nassim Road and was given a brief tour of the improvements and the extensive renovations done at the chancery. The Secretary was shown the Embassy’s new receiving and conference rooms, mini-library, the renovations done at the consular and labor offices, the public area and its dining facilities. Later she went to the Ambassador’s official residence, where wire services representatives and editors from various Filipino magazines in Singapore interviewed her. A meeting and photo session with the leaders of the Filipino community climaxed her official visit to the city-state.

“I call on our overseas Filipinos in Singapore to be direct instruments in projecting a positive image of our country in this part of the world by doing your jobs well and instilling a professional work ethic in carrying out your responsibilities, irrespective of the nature of your jobs,” she told her audience.

“The Philippine Government represented by the Department of Foreign Affairs and other government agencies in the Embassy will carry out its mandate of protecting your interests and promoting your welfare, while attending to your other concerns, including providing better delivery of services and ensuring that your votes will be counted in the coming elections,” she said. END.