“Iran’s Important Steps in Its Nuclear Case Taken in Rouhani’s Term,” Believes Meñez.

The Philippines’ ambassador in Iran, Eduardo Martin R. Meñez was born into a diplomatic family whose father, a seasoned diplomat, had witnessed the assassination of Anwar Sadat, the then President of Egypt closely. As for the celebration of the Philippines’ national day, we held an interview with him to check out more on the political-economic ties between the two countries.

AVA Diplomatic’s Exclusive Interview with the Philippines’ Ambassador in Iran,

Eduardo Martin R. Meñez

Interview by Mohammadreza Nazari

Your Honor, you began your education in the field of political sciences in 1980; how come did you become interested in that major?

I come from a family whose members were all active in diplomatic affairs. Since my youth, I realized that international relations can be right up my alley, but the state university I wanted to attend to in the Philippines stopped offering that major and I had to choose political sciences instead, which, later, drove me to the diplomatic sections of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

You just said you grew up in a diplomatic family; where did your father work at the time?

My father embarked on his career in the Ministry of Foreign affairs in the 1950’s. By 1984, he had served in many positions in countries such as the U.S., Italy, Japan, Thailand and Egypt which was his last I was the one born in Italy, not my father.

Did you go with your father on his trips?

When my father was serving in Italy, I was born there. We accompanied him on most of his trips, except for when he had to serve in Bangkok, for his children were studying at the time. Back then, I was in the Philippines, but decided to go along with him once he was sent to Egypt.

You said you were in Egypt in 1980, right?

From 1977 to 1980 I was. But my father stayed there from 1977 to 1984, which was the end of his service.

Hosni Mubarak had just took the power then, hadn’t he?

When first my father went there, Anwar Sadat was in power. He witnessed his death, for my father was sitting on a chair close to the shooting point, and when the terrorists shot the bullets, all diplomats had to get away and take shelter. My father served there from the initiation of Mubarak’s until his retirement in 1984.

Did your father not tell you any memory about the moment of assassination?

What happened then was disastrous and all mentioned to me was merely military facts, for some of the forces present there opened fire at the parade grandstand and the diplomats had to take cover to save their lives. The point is that my father continued his service, even though the situation at that moment was chaotic. Although we had no idea how the circumstances would turn out there, my father proceeded with his work until 1984.

Is your father still alive?

No, he passed away in 1989.

May his soul eternally rest in peace.

Thank you.

How did you grow oriented toward law?

Then, there was a bill passed for the applicants who sought to work in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs which dictated that the minimum age of the individuals had to be 25, which did not include me. Eventually, I decided to study another major until I became of age to be able to start my career. Law was the best choice after finishing which I could join the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

You mean due to your age you decided to spend your free time on studying law?

Yes.

But you ended up in the Presidential office instead of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

It was the beginning of my tenure in the Senate and I was working in the Parliament. In the meantime, I sat for an employment exam of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and was admitted. On December, 1991, I went there, but, since I was known by people in the President’s office, from 1992 to 1996 I was borrowed by the office of the President. That happened as a friend of mine who used to work in the parliamentary office later became the foreign affairs adviser of the President’s office invited me to work there.

What was your position then?

I was a director in the office the Presidential Adviser on Foreign Affairs.

Did you have the chance to converse with Mr. Rafsanjani?

Not directly. But when the Speaker of the Philippines’ parliament was talking to him, I was present too, for it was part of the diplomatic courtesy calls to be performed.

How were Iran-Philippines ties at the time of Mr. Rafsanjani?

Just like today, the ties were quite friendly and cooperative, and as a result of the meeting between the Great Ayatollah Rafsanjani and the then officials of the Philippines, Fidel Ramos travelled to Iran in 1995 which was the last time when the officials of the two countries met with each other at such level.

Therefore, we can conclude that Ayatollah Rafsanjani’s time was one of the best periods of diplomatic and political relations between the two countries?

That was a great period as lots of trades were carried out and also, the authorities of both countries were meeting each other.

As time went by, you made your way to The Hague and achieved your first diplomatic position in 1996; how were you appointed the deputy Consul in The Hague?

In 1996, I had my first time to work in the Netherlands which occurred as a result of my promotion after 6 years of work at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Then, I began my work as a fresh officer and rose through the ranks until I was appointed First Secretary and Consul in the Hague. The beginning of my job in the Netherlands was very fruitful, for I had the honor the serve under some of the most senior diplomatic officials of the Philippines. Another interesting point about that time was that the E.U. added the currency of Euro to its economic basis, which was intriguing for me to witness.

How were you sent to Singapore despite the fact that you had conducted your studies on the E.U.?

In the Philippines and some other countries, a dominant policy on the procedures of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its staff is a generalist approach which dictates that if a diplomat works in a European country, he has to able to work in an Asian country, too. In fact, a Philippine diplomat should know as much as he can about every subject. Another point is that the Foreign Ministries of some other countries are on the belief that there has to be a specialist approach to follow in the process of recruitment, which means whenever one starts his work in Europe, usually will have to stay there and specialize his work on that very location.

What did you achieve in Singapore in your first diplomatic position?

I went there again on detail. There was a regional economic organization, named APEC, and I started working in its secretariat. My activities there were generally geared toward economic affairs of the region. My position there was as the delegate of the Philippines in charge of fisheries, preserving and saving maritime, resources, youth ad labor issues, as wells as, intellectual property rights issues.

What interests me is that amid all this, in 2002, the US forces began training the police force of the Philippines for counterterrorism. 5 years later, you departed for New York as the representative of the Philippines. How did you find the bilateral relations of the Philippines and the US?

The Philippines was the colony of the US. In fact, after the Philippines quit the colonialism of Spain, it became colonized by the US between 1898 and 1946. Many things of what the Filipinos know today were introduced by the US to them for the first time then. Of those, I can name the teaching of English language and the establishing of the education system which is much similar to that of the US. Also, the political arrangements in the Philippines are so much the same as the US, such as the structure of the US Congress which is consisted of two separate sections. The collaboration of the US with the Philippines to train its soldiers for counterterrorism was only one of the many collaborations between the two countries. As a matter of fact, 2002 was not the first time when such cooperation was exercised, and there used to be some as such before. We have cooperative ties with the US on all levels, and the military aspect is just one of them.

There were disagreements between China and the Philippines over the gas and oil reserves of the Southern Sea of China. Has the US helped the Philippines claim its rights in this regard?

In the Philippines, we call that sea “the Western Sea of the Philippines”. As far as they are concerned, the US has expressed its concerns toward the existing situation in the region, for it is not the Philippines only who is involved in maritime disagreements with China, but also Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and the northern and northeastern countries of Asia have been dealing with the same matter. Anyway, the Philippines is pursuing a legal procedure through the UN and will wait for it to conclude.

We noticed that Mr. Obama had a trip to the Philippines a while ago, and there was a classified agreement signed in the Ministry of Defense of the Philippines. The Agreements construes that the permit for 10 years of extensive detachment of the US troops in the Philippines has been issued. Can this agreement change the political arrangements or the power balance of the Southeastern Asia to the benefit of the Philippines?

A while ago, on his trip plans to the continent of Asia, Mr. Obama visited Japan, Malaysia, South Korea and the Philippines on his final leg. The agreement is not a secret treaty, though, and the public well knew about it. It was in the pipelines for two years, and was signed in Manila with the US President being present. Actually, the name of this agreement is the “Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement”.

The main point here is that there is no such thing as the 10-year presence of the US forces in the Philippines, but the duration of the agreement is 10 years, and might be extended if it must. The US used to have military bases in the Philippines, just as it does in some other countries. But the Philippines decided to end such situations in 1991. However, after the WWII, a joint program to train the military forces was signed between the two countries, which has been decided to become a practical, implementable plan rather than a simple agreement.

The disagreements between the Philippines and China are only one single aspect of the relations between the two countries. China, in fact, is one of the biggest trade partners of ours, and esp. in the field of export, perhaps it is the Philippines’ biggest partner. I can also say that the Chinese are among the largest walk number of tourists in the Philippines. What is happening now is a totally natural aspect of the interactions between the two countries.

We consider China as a major member of the international community and as you know, China and the US have deep roots in the relations with each other. Of course, the US maintains such military relations with most of the Asian countries. I do not think such an agreement can lead to alarm China, since the US has completely clarified the matter for them.

It needs to be mentioned that the ties between the Philippines and China root back to a long while ago. Some Filipinos even possess a mixed Chinese race and call themselves Filipino-Chinese. The President, also, Mr. Aquino is of a far Chinese ancestry.

In the Southeastern Asia, there has always been negative reactions to the deployment of the western troops, esp. the US, on their soils. How do Filipinos view this matter?

The Philippines’ ties with the US have always gone through ups and downs. In 1991, the permit for the deployment of the US forces and their bases were called off in the Philippines, for the people did not approve of the existing situations. In the meantime that Okinawa was witnessing protests, there were demonstrations in the Philippines, too, and the legislature of the Philippines avoided the extension of the agreement, though it was aware that the US wanted to extend it.

Let’s get back to another period of your background. In 2012, you took part in the workshop on Proliferation Financing. Did that affect your appointment as the Philippines’ charge d’affaires in Iran?

Before I came here, I worked as Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Office of the United Nations and other International Organizations, a position you can see in many foreign ministries. For that matter, I took part in many conferences and what you pointed to was on the funding of proliferation of different types of weapons, including nuclear weapons. It was planned for the Asian countries by the US Department of Treasury, and could lead to the monitoring and control of financial transactions accordingly. You consider it a part of my background, of course. In Morocco, too, I participated in a seminar on nuclear collaborations. Also, when I was in New York, I witnessed the imposed sanctions on Iran by the UN.

You became a member of the Philippines’ delegation in the second session of the Nuclear Security Summit.

Yes, I did.

Given the fact that Iran’s nuclear case was at a very sensitive point those years, I suppose that could have prepared you for further familiarity with the nuclear matters. Had the Philippines’ Foreign Ministry chosen you and you were getting ready to come to Iran? Or you came here because you knew of what had been going on in Iran?

My background could have been a key factor considering which has made my appointment as ambassador more practical. However, the procedures of all personnel transfers in the Philippines to other positions relies on the vacancies at that time. For instance, the government conducts an opinion poll for 80 various positions to know how inclined the people are to fill in. Then, Iran was a vacancy and I volunteered for it myself, for I had visited here for the NAM Summit in 2012 in Tehran, which was before my ambassadorship. I had taken a close touch from the country.

Was your first visit to Iran that of the 2012 NAM Summit?

It was.

How different was what you really saw from that you had in mind before?

Like many others who come to Iran from the outside, I caught a pretty much different image. That happens because of what the western media spreads, influences the way you to think . When I was recommended this very position, I did not hesitate and took it. I wanted to be granted the honor to be the Philippines’ representative in Iran. Another reason, however, was my previous trip to Iran and the fact that during my time at the UN, I came to know the Iranian diplomats which made me know Iran was an interesting country. To be honest, as a diplomat, I have the chance to know more of Iran.

Currently, Iran has taken the first step to achieve the final agreement in its nuclear case; considering your activities in the international community and at the organizations which work on nuclear security, how do you see Iran’s nuclear case, its final stage it has just gotten into, and the talks with P5+1?

The matter is of importance for the Philippines and other countries, since it is international. The talks with P5+1 are a big step forward taken by President Rouhani’s government and cabinet. Personally, as an observer and as one who has studied international relations, it is my personal opinion and does not necessarily reflect that of the Philippines’ government – I believe that Iran’s wish to achieve a comprehensive agreement after only 6 months is much too optimistic. I suppose there should be a gradual procedure for such a matter, which causes the step-by-step lifting of the sanctions. In other words, it is very difficult to lift everything at once in 6 months. Time is of the essence for both parties to pursue their negotiations within the time they have as a result of the temporary agreement.

Would you agree with this headline: “Iran’s Nuclear Case Shall Not Pay Off within 6 Months;” or “Iran’s Important Step in Its Nuclear Case Taken in Rouhani’s Term”?

The second is much better, of course! What is happening now is that Mr. Rouhani’s performance has managed to win worldwide acclamation, for Iran succeeded in showing its good will.

First, you were chosen as charge d’affaires and later introduced as ambassador of the Philippines in Iran. Why has it been so?

In the Philippines, everybody who wants to be appointed ambassador has to go through a procedure which is like a verification. In the beginning of 2013, when I was sent here first, I was charge d’affaires. Then, the President signed my application of ambassadorship and sent it to the Legislative Assembly’s Commission on Appointments. They should verify the application, and after that, the Foreign Ministry takes the measures. The reason why I first came here as charge d’affaires was because in 2013, like Iran, we had an election coming. We, too, hold our election abroad. It was happened in May 2013, and I was supposed to be a senior official in Iran to supervise the election. The other reason was that 2014 was the 50^th anniversary of the initiation of ties between Iran and the Philippines, and I was sent here to prepare the embassy to hold this celebration. So, I first came here as charge d’affaires and in the late 2013, my letter of verification was signed, and I submitted my Letter of Credentials as Ambassador officially in January, 2014.

As the interview is drawing to a close, let us get to the economic and political relations between the two countries. Do you have any plans to promote the bilateral economic ties between Iran and the Philippines once the sanctions are gradually loosened?

Yes, of course. Of the most important objectives of mine is to improve the relations of the two countries in all aspects. The Philippines’ foreign policy hinges on 3 pillars: political security, economic diplomacy and protecting the rights of all the Filipinos who live outside of the country. There are worthy chances of commerce and investment with Iran which have been under the influence of the sanctions. Since 2012, the oil export from Iran to the Philippines has stopped. At the moment, with the steps Mr. Rouhani is taking, I believe the economic relations between the two countries can be restored.

Do you have any plans for knowledge transfer in the field of electronics?

A session of the joint economic consultation commission between Iran and the Philippines is to be held later this year. Iran has made great progress in the fields of electronics and machinery, and I believe the Philippines can learn a great deal from Iran considering the products made here.

What measures have you taken in terms of the extension of tourism between Iran and the Philippines? What about the removal of visa processes between the two countries?

Another area I hope to see some enhancement in is that we can see the people of Iran and the Philippines travel to each other’s countries as tourists. Of course, I have given my suggestions about easing the process of issuing visa for Iranians, for I see many Iranians hope to travel to the Philippines. I hope it happens, and personally want to give visa to the Iranian tours to gain a share of the hundreds of thousands of Iranians who annually visit Malaysia and Thailand for ourselves.

Considering the fact that the Philippines was a colony of Spain and even your country is named after the Spanish Kings, Philip II, has such matters affected the relations between the Philippines and Spain? Or that is just history for you?

When we were first discovered in 1521, we were not in a position to name our country and when it was named after the Spanish King who discovered us, we tried to think of it as a historic event. However, there were times when the people tried to change the name of the country, but it got nowhere; just like your efforts to change the capital from Tehran to another city which has not happened yet!

How is the Philippines’ national day set then?

Like other embassies, we celebrate this day on June 12, which is the Philippines’ national day. The story behind it is somehow amusing. In 1898, the revolutionary forces fought the colonialism of Spain; then, they announced that day to be the national day of our country. But later, in 1946, we were granted independence from being the colony of the US and another day was declared the national day which was was 4^th of July, which was, of course, the same day as US independence. Yet, it was in the 1960’s that, June 12 was decided upon to go into the calendars as the national day of the Philippines.