(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert Del Rosario is expected to visit Qatar in July to seek ways to further strengthen bilateral relations, outgoing ambassador Crescente Relacion has told Gulf Times.
"I will be informing Qatar's Foreign Minister during our meeting today about the upcoming visit of Del Rosario, which is expected to cover bilateral issues and focus on political and economic aspects," he explained.
The Philippine government official was scheduled to make a state visit to Qatar in September last year but plans failed to materialise.
The visit could also open opportunities for both countries to venture in various fields such as agriculture, tourism, mining and cultural co-operation.
Other issues that maybe be tackled include the convening of the bilateral air panel talks to discuss additional flights of Qatar Airways to Manila.
While Relacion is set to leave Qatar on May 31, he said he wants to see more economic interactions for Qatar to invest in the Philippines and Philippine companies to come to Qatar.
The ambassador said "nothing is in the pipeline" for now, regarding Qatari investment in the Philippines, but they are working to finalise an agreement on the "reciprocal protection of investments".
About bilateral ties, Relacion noted that Qatar and the Philippines have a very close and stable relationship, citing numerous interactions of high-ranking government officials between the two countries.
Eritrean ambassador Ali Ibrahim Ahmed, dean of the diplomatic corps in Qatar, yesterday organised a traditional send-off for the Philippine ambassador. It was attended by diplomats from different embassies in Doha and representatives from Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
During his term of five years and seven months, Relacion claimed he enhanced the relationship between the two countries for the protection of overseas Filipino workers in Qatar.
It also saw the second convening of the Joint Committee Meeting on Labour Matters in February. He thanked dozens of Filipino organisations for their involvement in various activities of the embassy.
He urged them to support
the incoming ambassador to Qatar, Wilfredo Santos, who is currently the Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs in the Philippines.
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