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Announcement - 2021 Foreign Service Officer (FSO) Examinations

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Philippine Agriculture Secretary Engages French Businesses on Opportunities for Trade and and Investments

21 April 2021 – Philippine Agriculture Secretary Dr. William Dollente Dar delivering his address during the webinar with French member-companies of MEDEF International

21 April 2021, Paris, France – MEDEF International and the Philippine Embassy in Paris co-organized with the Philippine Department of Agriculture (DA) a high-level virtual meeting today for member-companies of the French business confederation MEDEF, shining the spotlight this time on trade and investment opportunities in Philippine agriculture.

Agriculture Secretary Dr. William Dollente Dar made the first presentation, providing an overview of the agricultural sector before zeroing on the areas of investments where French companies could be potential partners.

Secretary Dar enumerated the following investment areas that could be explored: dairy farming, livestock, poultry solutions & technologies; aquaculture and fish farming technologies; sustainable water technologies for irrigation; greenhouse technology; and smart agriculture. Also highlighted were opportunities in the production and processing of coconut, seaweeds, abaca, mango, shrimps, cacao and coffee.

DA Undersecretary Cheryl Marie Natividad-Caballero elaborated on the envisioned agri-industrial business corridors and other transformative projects of the government, including private-public partnerships (PPPs). She noted the potential investment areas in fisheries, marine and aquaculture, namely for: aquaculture grow-out cages and ponds; hatcheries for aquaculture production and post-harvest facilities such as for proessing plants, feed mills and cold chains. The Undersecretary provided more details on the existence of three special economic zones: the agro-industrial, the agro-forestry and the aquamarine ones.

The Q&A session that followed had clearly shown that particular topics discussed by the key DA officials had peaked the interest of several French businesses, who expressed their hope to continue the dialogue with DA and relevant industry players, beyond this webinar, on respective areas they wished to explore.

21 April 2021 – DA Undersecretary Cheryl Marie Natividad-Caballero makes her presentation for the webinar on the agro-industrial business corridors and other transformative projects of the Department

The webinar, moderated by the Chairman of MEDEF International’s France-Philippines Business Council, Mr. Philippe Louis-Dreyfus, included the participation of Ms. Aileen Mendiola-Rau, Chargé d’Affaires, a.i. of the Philippine Embassy in Paris, H.E. Michèle Boccoz, French Ambassador to the Philippines, and other key representatives from the Philippine and French governments. A total of 98 participants were present at this virtual meeting.

21 April 2021 – Panelists, speakers and key organizers of the MEDEF International Webinar with the Philippine Department of Agriculture

In his closing remarks, Mr. François Burgaud, Chairman of Adepta, had affirmed the participants’ interest to have a series of sessions in the coming weeks to discuss in more detail prospects for cooperation or partnership, and expressed hope that the Philippine Embassy in Brussels’ Agriculture Office could assist in realizing this goal.

Adepta is a French business confederation made up of 200 agriculture and related companies. It will be merging with MEDEF International this year. MEDEF International prides itself as being the most representative organization of the French private sector at an international level. It has recently named Mr. Martin Ruby as its correspondent for the Philippines. END.

Moving away from silo approach to ensure people-centered growth – Philippines to UNESCO Executive Board

PH Deputy Permanent Delegate to UNESCO Aileen S. Mendiola-Rau during the 211th Session of the UNESCO Executive Board 

13 April 2021, Paris – Philippine Deputy Permanent Delegate to UNESCO Aileen S. Mendiola-Rau delivered the Philippine national statement at the opening plenary of the 211th Session of the UNESCO Executive Board.

Noting that over 821 million learners are still affected by the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Deputy Permanent Delegate Mendiola-Rau called on UNESCO to be more responsive in meeting the demands of the future and to facilitate the education and lifelong learning process so both youth and adults can develop new competencies and be fit to face the future.

Deputy Permanent Delegate Mendiola-Rau advocated UNESCO’s continued mainstreaming of futures literary into the educational system so that no one is left behind and opportunities for learning will continue to be made available to those who are vulnerable, the forcibly displaced, the poor, and those in places affected by COVID-19. She also noted that digital transformation and innovation will be best achieved once allocation of funds is prioritized and adjusted.

In her statement, she also underscored the importance of Global Citizenship Education to combat hate and racism, with the aim of shaping inclusive multicultural societies.

Deputy Permanent Delegate Mendiola-Rau said that the Philippines welcomes UNESCO’s recommendations on Open Science and the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence and expressed the hope that these recommendations will reap concrete benefits particularly for developing countries like the Philippines.

She also brought forward the proposal to generate discussion in UNESCO on the ocean-climate nexus which impacts on the conservation and preservation of natural and cultural heritage, disaster risk reduction and mitigation, and environmental protection.

She highlighted that “the Philippines will continue to strengthen its partnership with its local and international partners in promoting freedom of expression, press freedom, safety of journalists, and the right to access information, both online and offline.”

Noting the above, she mentioned that the Philippines stands ready to cooperate to ensure that UNESCO can be an agile organization ready to address new challenges.

Deputy Permanent Delegate Mendiola-Rau concluded by stating: “now more than ever, we should move away from the silo approach when we work on programs promoting education, culture, and science.  Treatment of health and social issues should similarly move away from this silo approach.  A transversal approach, one which cuts across sectors and considers human rights, is imperative to ensure a people-centered growth.”

END. 

	“UNESCO must continue mainstreaming futures literary into the educational system so that no one is left behind and opportunities for learning will continue to be made available to those who are vulnerable, the forcibly displaced, the poor, and those in places affected by COVID-19.”
	Aileen S. Mendiola-Rau
	Philippine Deputy Permanent Delegate
	to UNESCO