MANILA, Philippines—Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario will leave for Egypt on Monday for a one-day visit aimed at bolstering Manila’s ties with Cairo as the security situation there continues to improve after the political crisis that kept visitors away from the Arab country in recent years.
Foreign Affairs secretary Alberto del Rosario. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
Del Rosario will meet with Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy to sign cooperation agreements on tourism and trade and to brief his counterpart on developments in the Philippines, including the recent signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro and the West Philippine Sea issue.
Del Rosario is going to Egypt for the first time since the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) barred Filipinos from traveling there last year, amid the violent upheaval that followed the ouster of Mohammed Morsi in 2013.
The DFA said Del Rosario and Fahmy are expected to sign a new tourism agreement and a visa waiver pact for diplomats. They will also witness the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce.
The foreign office said Del Rosario will also update Fahmy on the Bangsamoro agreement, developments on disputes in the West Philippine Sea and the results of the recently concluded Asean Summit in Burma.
In February, the Philippines noted the “improving political and security situation” in Egypt during the 8th Philippines-Egypt Joint Commission Meeting held in Manila.
The two countries have maintained bilateral ties since 1946, with the Philippines opening its first mission in the Arab and African region in Cairo in the 1960s. In 2011, Egypt served as a transit point for some 3,000 Filipinos who were evacuated from the conflict in Libya.
The Philippines also enforced a mandatory evacuation of Filipinos at the height of the violence in Egypt last year, a measure that has since been lifted. Tarra Quismundo
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