|
Philippine Delegation headed by Consul General Maria Rowena Mendoza Sanchez
with Suzhou City Vice Mayor Zhou Wei Qiang and officials from the Suzhou
City
Philippine
Tourism Product Presentation in Suzhou
12 May 2008
-
Philippine Consul General to Shanghai Maria Rowena Mendoza Sanchez led a
delegation composed of Consul Aileen Mendiola-Rau, Attaché Gerard Panga,
Attaché Niel Ballesteros, Chief Interpreter Michelle Tang, Trade Assistant
Hans Ding, Suzhou Liwayway Food Ltd. Mr. Alvin Ong and Mr. Su Jiang,
Filipino businesspeople Mr. Jeson Kiokan, Ms. Llewellyn Tan and several
Philippine travel agents to visit Suzhou recently and was warmly met by Vice
Mayor Zhou Wei Qiang.
In her official talks
with the officials of Suzhou City, Consul General Sanchez reiterated the
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s invitation to invest in the Philippines
in many areas offering opportunities for Chinese entrepreneurs. Consul
General Sanchez and Vice Mayor Zhou agreed that the following areas of
cooperation can be pursued: tourism, education particularly in nursing and
English as a second language, trade , and investment.
During the
visit, officials of Suzhou City told Consul General Sanchez that they
welcome the expansion of cooperation in various fields and the strengthening
of trade relations between the two sides and that Suzhou City is interested
to establish sister-city relations with a Philippine city. Vice Mayor Zhou
stated that he hopes to lead a delegation to visit the Philippines in early
2008.
Vice
Chairman Lu Yizhong of the Suzhou
Sub-Council of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade
(Suzhou CCPIT) stated that their group will organize a business delegation
to the Philippines in the second half of 2008 to look at possible areas of
trade and investment. The Suzhou CCPIT also agreed to help the Consulate
General organize a seminar on the Philippines for its members.
Aside from
the official meetings, the delegation visited the Suzhou Industrial Park,
one of the leading industrial parks in China. During
the visit, Consul General Sanchez and SIP officials discussed ways to
cooperate.
After the meeting
with the Vice Mayor and the Suzhou CCPIT, the Philippine Tourism Office in
Shanghai led a delegation of Philippine Travel Agents and conducted a
Product Presentation at the Bamboo Grove Hotel in cooperation with the
Suzhou Tourism Administration Commission. About ten top Suzhou-based travel
agents participated in this event and were presented with new Philippine
travel destination programs. The event was covered by Suzhou Television
Network. END
|
