Philippines to host high-level dialogue with Spain

MANILA -- The Philippines will host a high-level dialogue with their Spanish counterparts this month to boost the bilateral and historic relations of the two countries in the areas of business, education, politics and culture.

The Sixth Tribuna Espana-Filipinas will be held at the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) on January 29 and 30.

Spanish Ambassador to the Philippines Jorge Domecq said the forum has been "quite a fruitful seedling" for the two countries, who share more than 300 years of turbulent relations.

"[The forum] will compliment the different components of the private, public and cultural side. It will act as a catalytic force to focus attention to the key areas of mutual interests," Pedro Roxas, president of the privately-funded Fundacion Santiago, said during a press conference.

Fundacion Santiago is a nongovernment organization that seeks to strengthen the ties between Spain and the Philippines.

He added that the forum's "ultimate objective" is to "strengthen ties and help both countries understand each other."

The focus will be on four major points--heritage tourism and creative industries, private public partnership (PPP), politics and education.

The delegates will also be discussing Bottom Up Bottom-Up Budgetting and transparency and accountability, as well as key areas in business such as PPP and waterway for sustainable development.

Other sessions of the forum will cover investments in airport runways, wall-less education, exchanges, internationalization and equivalency.
Chaco Molina, the spokesperson of the Tribuna Espana-Filipinas, recognized the need to boost the links of the two countries.

"We shall not ignore the past, but we must look forward to the future. It is a bittersweet relationship," he said.

The Philippines was under Spanish colonial rule for 333 years. The Philippines only gained its independence from the Spaniards in 1898.

Molina said that there is a lot of potential that Madrid sees in Manila especially in the fields of governance, culture, business and education.

Roxas added that the high-level dialogue will hopefully give a "methodological focus" that is aligned with the Philippine government's goals.

"The forum will get together different people from the public and the private sector. [We expect] the support of the public sector, the design of the academe and the economic support of [the financial leaders]," Domecq said.

The forum was made possible through a partnership between the Barcelona-based Casa Asia and the Fundacion Santiago. (CVB/Sunnex)