Ambassador of the Republic of the Philippines to Vietnam visits and works in Lam Dong

(LĐ online) - On March 26, Mr. Meynardo LB. Montealegre - Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of the Philippines to Vietnam visited and worked in Lam Dong .

Mr. Meynardo LB. Montealegre - Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of the Philippines to Vietnam expressed his joy when visiting and working in Lam Dong.

Accompanying the delegation were Ms. Le Thi Phung - Honorary Consul General of the Republic of the Philippines in Ho Chi Minh City; Mr. Jose Mateo C. Mabagal - Counselor and other members of the delegation.

Mr. Pham S - Vice Chairman of Lam Dong Provincial People's Committee presented souvenirs to the Ambassador

On Lam Dong side, the delegation was received by Mr. Pham S - Vice Chairman of Lam Dong Provincial People's Committee; leaders of the departments: Planning and Investment, Culture - Sports and Tourism, Agriculture and Rural Development; leaders of Lam Dong Center for Investment, Trade and Tourism Promotion.

Ambassador Meynardo LB. Montealegre presents his photo book to the leaders of Lam Dong province.

According to the report of Lam Dong Provincial People's Committee, the cooperation activities between Lam Dong province and the Philippines are still not many. Import and export activities between Lam Dong province and the Philippine market are still modest. In 2023, Lam Dong province's export turnover to the Philippine market only reached 2.94 million USD, the main export items were green coffee (2.64 million USD) and items such as vegetables, fruits, honey, etc. (0.3 million USD); currently there is no recorded import data from this market.

Delegates take souvenir photos

Regarding investment attraction, currently in Lam Dong there are no projects of Philippine investors; there are 2 Philippine investors contributing capital, buying shares, and capital contributions in 1 economic organization with contributed capital: 0.5 billion VND, accounting for 20% of charter capital (2.5 billion VND).

In tourism, the Philippines is one of the tourist markets with a high average spending level (about 2,000 USD/tour). Da Lat - Lam Dong is a new and attractive destination for Filipino tourists, so tourists from this market tend to spend more on shopping, dining and experiences. Filipino tourists come to Lam Dong mainly by road or air connecting from major international airports such as Tan Son Nhat - Ho Chi Minh City, Noi Bai - Hanoi, Da Nang. Currently, direct flights from the Philippines to Lien Khuong airport are not yet available. In 2023, the number of Filipino tourists will account for about 0.4% (about 1,600 tourists) of the total number of international visitors to Lam Dong province.

In the past 3 years, 600 workers from Lam Dong province have gone to work abroad; of which 1 worker went to work in the Philippines market. Provincial authorities have granted work permits to 306 foreign workers to work in Lam Dong province; of which 46 are Filipino nationals with the job position of an expert in the field of education.

During the meeting, the Vice Chairman of Lam Dong Provincial People's Committee expressed his joy in welcoming Mr. Meynardo LB. Montealegre to visit and work in Lam Dong; briefly introduced to the delegation the socio-economic strengths of Lam Dong and proposed cooperation with the Republic of the Philippines in 4 areas including climate change response; agricultural product processing; tourism and investment promotion.

Mr. Meynardo LB. Montealegre thanked the Lam Dong Provincial People's Committee for their welcome and said that he would study Lam Dong's proposals to promote areas of possible cooperation between this country and Lam Dong, especially in the fields of tourism and high-tech agriculture, including promoting the number of Filipino tourists to Lam Dong and also hoping that Vietnamese tourists, including Lam Dong tourists, would choose the Philippines as their destination.

The Ambassador also said that the Republic of the Philippines will soon have a delegation of congressmen and businessmen come to work and explore investment opportunities with Vietnam, including Lam Dong, with the goal of elevating the Vietnam - Philippines relationship to a strategic partnership in the coming time.

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