On 31 May 2018, the delegation of Department of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines composed of 10 members headed by Ms. Renee Gayle Chua, Principal Assistant of Division of China, Office of Asia and Pacific Affairs of Department of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines visited the ASEAN-China Centre (ACC). Mr. Vithit Powattanasuk, Director of Information and Public Relations Division (IPRD), officials from General Affairs and Coordination Division (GACD) and Education, Culture and Tourism Division (ECTD) of ACC met and exchanged views with the delegation.
Mr. Vithit Powattanasuk extended a warm welcome to the delegation. He gave a comprehensive introduction on ACC’s mandate and work and mentioned that 2018 marks the 15th anniversary of ASEAN-China strategic partnership and ASEAN-China Year of Innovation. ACC has exerted great efforts to promote ASEAN-China friendly exchanges and practical cooperation in trade, investment, education, culture, tourism as well as media and information, and has completed a series of activities so far, which achieved positive results. He also introduced the upcoming projects of ACC in various fields in the second half of the year. He stated that ACC has played an important role in raising awareness about ASEAN-China relations and raising the profile of ACC among the general public, particularly the youth, which would help enhance ASEAN-China strategic partnership in a sustainable way.
During the interaction, such topics as ACC organizational structure, the procedure of the planning and approval of the flagship projects of ACC, the challenge and opportunities ACC faced for development, the choice of the partners of ACC, strengthening the Philippines-China tourism and media cooperation and inviting the Philippine media delegation to visit China and enhancing mutual communication and understanding through new media like social networking have been raised.
The Philippine delegation expressed thankfulness to ACC for the warm reception and stated that ACC has made great efforts and important contribution to promoting ASEAN-China practical cooperation. Their visit to ACC secretariat increased their further understanding of ACC and they will continue to support and participate in the activities organized by ACC and expected that the Department of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines will strengthen the communication and cooperation with ACC so as to promote the in-depth and enduring development of Philippines-China and ASEAN-China relations with joint efforts.