Philippines Envoy Says Iranian Foreign Policy Evolutionized in Past Year

Philippines Ambassador to Tehran Eduardo Martin R. Menez said Iranian foreign policy has been evolutionized during the course of the past year and great achievements have been gained in that while, AVA Diplomatic reports.‘Iran very well showed in the course of the past year that it truly favors improving its relations with the world and as a result Iran’s foreign relations improved drastically throughout the last year’ said Ambassador Mendez after a meeting with Hormozgan province governor general.

The Philippines envoy said that all those successes are indebted to the firm support of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khameneie, the strong effect of whose thoughts on the Iranian policies both inside Iran and abroad is well observed.

In implementing policies inside the country, too, the new government implying the Supreme Leader’s guidance has used the experience of the competent elite personalities in the course of the past year in different management positions, such as the governor generals in different parts of Iran, he said.

Martin Menez said that Iran is on the right track, continuing which it will in near future achieve a very desirable status, both in the internal and in the international scenes.

Referring to his visits of Iran’s Bandar Abbas port city and Qeshm Island, the Philippines envoy said that both the culture and the climate of the southern Iranian province of Hormozgan are similar to those of his country, on the one hand, and the international status of Hormozgan, on the other hand, increase Manila’s incentives for boosting bilateral cooperation with that Iranian province.

Philippines ambassador said that Manila also looks at Iran’s Hormozgan province as the threshold for its trade transactions with the Central Asian countries, expressing hope that his visit of the southern Iranian province would serve as a foundation stone for expansion of relations in tourism, education and scientific fields.

Philippines Ambassador Eduardo Martin R. Menez at the end referred to visits made by some 150 thousand citizens of his country of the Iranian Kish and Qeshm islands, reiterating that Manila I willing to open a consular office in Hormozgan province to facilitate the visa procedure, if possible.

The Governor General of Hormozgan Province Jassem Jadri too, said that in his meeting with the Philippines envoy after welcoming him he had elaborated on the national and international status of Hormozgan province.

Jadri referred to the existence of free zones, petrochemical, steel and aluminum industries, and capacities for fisheries and agricultural activities as some of the unique potentials of the Hormozgan province.

The highest government official in the province also proposed that Bandar Abbas and one of the port cities in Philippines will be nominated as sister cities, which was welcomed by Ambassador Mendez.

Launching an air route between Hormozgan and a city in Philippines, exchange of scientific faculties between the two countries universities, and signing of memoranda of understanding between Hormozgan universities and scientific centers and those in Philippines were among the other proposals of Governor General Jadri, which Ambassador Mendez welcomed, and it was agreed that implementing them will be pursued by both sides.

Philippinesˈ ambassador in his day-long visit of Hormozgan province visited Bandar Abbas port city and Qeshm Island and had visits with the governor general of Hormozgan, the governor of Qeshm, and vice president and head of the Qeshm Free Zone.

He meanwhile visited the port complex and facilities of Martyr Raja’ie Port and left Bandar Abbas for Tehran.

Earlier in the day Ambassador to Menez said in a meeting with Qeshm Island governor that women in Iran are as active in social affairs as men. The Philippines envoy said that meeting with a lady as governor is an evidence for this claim.

Referring to his visits to a number of Iran’s universities, Menez said that women participation in the field of science, education is very noticeable in Iran, adding that from such graduated women in these universities, a scientist like Maryam Mirzakhani succeeded to receive the highest scientific award in mathematics in the world.

Menez referred to a signed sport agreement between Iran and the Philippines and said that the Qeshm Island is the most appropriate place for developing athletic relations between the two countries.
He also expressed his country’s interest in developing tourism relations with Qeshm Island and called for cooperation of the Iranian side with the Philippines Embassy in Iran considering visits by 150,000 Filipino tourists to Iran annually most of whom visit Qeshm Island.

He appreciated Qeshm Governor Ms. Ezzat Kamalzadeh for her hospitality and that of the Island residents and their kindness toward foreign tourists.

The Qeshm governor, for her part, also underlined the necessity of expansion of athletic and tourism relations between the island and Philippines and said that mutual cooperation in these fields can open a new chapter of ties between the two countries.

She asked the ambassador to prepare the ground for visit of tourists and athletes of Qeshm Island, especially the female athletes and tourists.