PH envoy to Portugal promotes inter-state camaraderie through various partnerships

LISBON — Philippine Ambassador to Portugal Philippe Jones Lhuillier has been going around Portugal, promoting the country as the next premier investment hub in Southeast Asia, and forging alliances that will redound to the benefit of both nations.

One of his biggest programs is the partnership with the Greek Embassy in Manila, which enables Filipinos to apply for Schengen visas through its office in the country.

“This arrangement will benefit Filipinos who want to travel to Portugal, especially overseas Filipino workers who wish to bring over family members or relatives over to visit them during the holiday season. They don’t need to fly to Jakarta, Indonesia, where the nearest Portuguese embassy is located, to get their visas,” said Amb. Lhuillier

The alter-ego of the President also sealed an agreement between the cities of Sabrosa and Cebu. The sister-city pact will allow the two cities to exchange ideas and resources that will promote their respective economic and tourism goals.

Also in the pipeline is the sister-city partnership between Dumaguete City and Combria. The agreement is hoped to bring development in the areas of education, business, tourism, culture, and people-to-people engagement.

In particular, a partnership between the cities’ premier educational institutions was given the spotlight, with a visit to the Instituto Pedro Nunes (IPN), a research institute that with programs on business and ideas incubation, which support the development of innovative and technology-based ideas.

Ambassador Lhuillier also visited the European Monitoring Centre on Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA). Meeting with Mr. Wolfgang Götz, EMCDDA Director, the possibility of a collaboration between the EMCDDA and the PDEA that will demonstrate the serious desire of the Philippine Government to address the global problem on drug trafficking.