ISRAEL and the Philippines conducted their 12th joint commission meeting (JCM) and political dialogue in Manila to discuss their bilateral relations.
Deputy Director General for Asia and the Pacific at Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) Rafael Harpaz, who once served as the states’ former envoy to the Philippines from 2018 to 2021, headed his country’s delegation. Assistant Secretary Alfonso Ferdinand Agbayani Ver of the Department of Foreign Affairs’ Office of Middle East and African Affairs (OMEAA) led the Philippine side.
The JCM on September 5 reviewed the ties binding both countries and highlighted main areas of cooperation: agriculture, trade and economy, overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Israel, innovation and technology, defense, and tourism.
Harpaz emphasized the historically close and warm relations between the state and the republic, as he congratulated the expansion of the Israeli Embassy in Manila which recently opened two new offices: the Economic and Trade Mission, as well as the Office of the Defense Attaché. He highlighted the partnership during the pandemic, including the early vaccination of all Israel-based OFWs, and the deployment of Israeli medical teams to Manila who shared their local experiences both on the vaccination campaign and the clinical treatment.
Ambassador Ilan Fluss shared that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. asked Israel to enhance its dealings in agriculture: “We are happy to share our expertise in the [said field] with the Philippines to address productivity and food security.”
Other topics discussed were the solar-powered irrigation project, the agriculture internship program in Israel for Filipinos, and the dairy programs.
The Israeli delegation emphasized building bridges of innovations between the two countries in the areas of water and agriculture technologies, cyber security, information and communications technology, connectivity, and more. Also included in the agenda were topics of counterterrorism and the expansion of defense ties.
Regional and international topics discussed during the JCM, according to the Israeli Embassy, were bilateral political relations, developments in the Middle East and the Abraham Accords, Iran, as well as the West Philippine Sea, among others.
Desk Officer Mor Ben Moshe from Israel MOFA’s Southeast Asia Department-Asia and the Pacific accompanied Harpaz, together with Head of Economic and Trade Mission Tomer Heyvi, Defense Attaché Raz Shabtay, Deputy Chief of Mission Nir Balzam, as well as the embassy’s political and consular staff.
OMEAA’s Deputy Assistant Secretary Shirlene Mananquil, Acting Director Mary Grace Perpetua and Assistant Director Nonito Cabrera Jr., with Philippine Embassy in Tel Aviv’s Chargé d’Affaires a.i. Reichel Quinones, graced the gathering.
Representatives from the Department of Agriculture, Department of Migrant Workers, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, Office of Public and Cultural Diplomacy, Office of Civilian Authority, the United Nations and other international organizations also participated.