DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS 
P R E S S  R E L E A S E
www.dfa.gov.ph                                                                        2330 Roxas Blvd., Pasay City, Philippines                                                                     Tel. No. 834-4000 
SFA-AGR-643-06                                                                                                                                                                                                                             28 July 2006

AMBASSADOR REYES PRESENTS CREDENTIALS TO JAMAICAN GOVERNOR GENERAL 

28 July 2006 – Philippine Ambassador to Havana, Cuba George B. Reyes reported to the Department of Foreign Affairs that he presented on 26 July 2006 in Kingston, Jamaica his credentials as concurrent envoy to Jamaica to Governor General Kenneth Hall, Queen Elizabeth's representative in this Caribbean country which is also a member of the British Commonwealth. 

After receiving military honors at King's House, the Governor General's official residence which flew the Philippine flag throughout the day, Ambassador Reyes conveyed the greetings and best wishes of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo as well as her hope that Jamaica would continue to be a partner in joint political, economic and cultural endeavors. 

The Ambassador noted that the similarities between the openness and hospitality of the two island nations are important reasons why some 150 Filipino nationals have chosen to live in Jamaica. 

Ambassador Reyes thanked Governor General Hall for the Jamaican Government's approval of the Philippine request for authorization to establish an honorary consulate in Kingston, stressing that the protection and promotion of the interests of overseas Filipinos are a priority of the Macapagal Arroyo administration.  

A country with one of the highest per capita incomes in the Caribbean at US $3,000, Jamaica exports bauxite, sugar, coffee and run and could be tapped as an export market by the Philippine services sector. 

After meeting with Jamaican Foreign Ministry officials, Ambassador Reyes held discussions on consular matters with the Filipino community and visited a home for abandoned children managed by the Missionaries of the Poor, eighty of whose brothers come from the Philippines. END

/gary

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