ARGENTINA will explore ways to elevate its relationship with the Philippines, particularly on managing the effects of the pandemic.
Chargé d’Affaires Mauricio Germán Muñoz said his country is keen on sharing its best experiences in handling the crisis, and in turn learn from the Philippines with regard to vaccine deployment as an archipelago.
Muñoz, together with officials from the national government, welcomed the 500,000 doses of AstraZeneca recently donated by Argentina to Manila, which he describes as a reflection of Buenos Aires’s expression of solidarity.
“We’re also aiming to embark on some exchange of experiences on [ways] our countries are managing the consequences of the pandemic,” the Argentinian Embassy official said. “I hope [to] see new developments in this field in the future.”
He said Argentina wants to gather some of its medical experts and consider the next possible engagement with Manila.
“For example, [in connection with the vaccines, we are aiming for an] exchange in experiences on how to store vaccines, considering the challenges of a country with the geographic complexity of the Philippines,” Muñoz explained. “Argentina is not an island-country, so we really think we could learn from each other and try to address challenges posed by the geography, climate and the logistics in general.”
The latest Argentinian contribution brings the Philippines’s total acquired vaccine doses since February 2021 to about 191 million, according to the National Task Force Against Covid-19.