President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. welcomed the newly designated ambassadors of Chile and China in a formal presentation of credentials ceremony at Malacañan Palace on Thursday (December 11).
President Marcos received the letters of credence of His Excellency Felipe Alejandro Diaz Ibañez, Ambassador of the Republic of Chile; and of His Excellency Jing Quan, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China, Malacañan said in a news release.
The President said he looked forward to working with the new ambassadors.
Welcoming Chile’s new envoy, President Marcos expressed confidence that Philippine-Chile bilateral relations will continue to strengthen.
“We are happy that an old friend of the Philippines has returned and the long and very fine relationship between our two countries will continue, and we would continue to promote an even longer and even closer relationship between our two countries,” President Marcos said.
Ambassador Diaz served as consul at the Embassy of Chile in the Philippines from 2003 to 2008.
In receiving the credentials of China’s new envoy, President Marcos said China is one of the Philippines’ most important friends and partners in the world.
“I’m sure that there will be many opportunities for us to make the relationship between our two countries stronger, deeper and more important as the years go by,” said the President.
“I look forward to working with you in managing the differences and intensifying the cooperation between our two countries. Our differences should be the exception in our ties rather than the norm,” the President added.
The new ambassadors pledged to dedicate their efforts towards the deepening of the bilateral cooperation and friendly relations between the Philippines and their respective countries.
Ambassadors officially begin their diplomatic tenure by presenting credentials, an act that underscores a shared commitment to strengthening bilateral ties and fostering international cooperation.
The Philippines formalized diplomatic relations with Chile in 1946, and with China in 1975.