Baku, November 23, AZERTAC

The President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, received the credentials of the new Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of the Philippines, Maria Elena Algabre.

Ambassador Maria Elena Algabre conveyed greetings from Philippine President Rodrigo Roa Duterte and the people of the Philippines to the Head of State. She noted that the President of the Philippines wishes to expand relations between the two countries.

The Ambassador presented her credentials to President Ilham Aliyev.

President Ilham Aliyev met with the Ambassador.

The Head of State thanked for the greetings of the Philippine President and asked the Ambassador to convey his greetings to President Rodrigo Roa Duterte and the Filipino people.

President Ilham Aliyev said Azerbaijan also wants to expand cooperation with the Philippines, including trade relations. The Head of State thanked the Philippines for their support for the extension of the Azerbaijani presidency of the Non-Aligned Movement until 2023, and for the Azerbaijani initiatives within the organization, including the equitable distribution of vaccines. President Ilham Aliyev stressed that Azerbaijan’s position as the president of the Non-Aligned Movement has always been to protect the interests of member countries and strengthen relations. Addressing bilateral relations, the Head of State stressed the importance of intensifying ties in the political and economic fields and of establishing economic and trade relations, and expressed the hope that during her tenure Maria Elena Algabre would contribute to strengthening relations between the two countries.

Ambassador Maria Elena Algabre first congratulated President Ilham Aliyev and the Azerbaijani people on Victory Day and restoration of territorial integrity, as well as National Renaissance Day.

Maria Elena Algabre said that during her tenure, she will spare no effort to develop political and economic cooperation between Azerbaijan and the Philippines, both bilaterally and multilaterally, as well as people-to-people contacts.

The Ambassador spoke about the importance of an online summit of the Contact Group of the Non-Aligned Movement and a special session of the United Nations General Assembly in response to COVID-19 held at the initiative of the President of Azerbaijan, and a resolution on COVID-19 and vaccines recently adopted by the United Nations General Assembly. Maria Elena Algabre also highlighted Azerbaijan’s successful model of economic development, noting that these achievements of the country are reflected in the reports of international organizations as a progressive example.