(Communicated by MFA Spokesperson)
Israel welcomes the visit in Jerusalem of the President of the Republic of the Philippines. This is the first visit of a Philippine president in Israel. After his visit in Israel, the president will visit Jordan.
President Rodrigo Duterte will visit Israel between 2-5 September. He will meet with Israel's president, prime minister and foreign minister, and visit Yad Vashem – the World Holocaust Remembrance Center – and tour the Old City of Jerusalem. President Duterte will also meet with Israel's large Filipino community and visit the "Open Doors" monument in Rishon Letzion, which commemorates the Philippines' rescue of Jews during World War II.
The Philippine president will be accompanied by a large delegation of ministers, including the ministers of foreign affairs, national defense, trade and industry, agriculture, internal security, science and technology, labor and employment, tourism and transportation. Senior senators will also be part of the delegation.
President Duterte timed his visit in order to mark several important events:
- The 80-year anniversary of the Philippines opening its gates and providing sanctuary to Jewish refugees fleeing the Nazis;
- The 70-year anniversary of the Philippines' support of UN Resolution 181 – the Partition Plan – on 29 November 1947. The Philippines was the only state in Southeast Asia to vote in favor of the resolution.
- The 60-year anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Israel and the Philippines.
We assign great importance to this visit, which symbolizes the strong, warm ties between our two peoples as well as the enormous potential for developing and strengthening the relations. Cooperation between the two countries is thriving. In diplomacy, it is expressed in public statements by the leadership in Manila as well as in issues important to Israel in the international arena. Other areas of robust cooperation are security and combating terrorism, tourism, investments, energy, infrastructures, and more.
More than 150 Philippine businesspeople will be arriving with President Duterte. During the visit, the Philippine president will lead a business seminar for heads of large companies from both Israel and the Philippines. Israeli and Philippine companies are expected to sign a series of agreements, in the field of energy and others.
One of the important subjects to be discussed is the opening of a direct flight route between Manila and Ben Gurion Airport. Direct flights will bring a rise in the number of Philippine tourists coming to Israel, particularly Philippine Christians wanting to make pilgrimages to the Holy Land. They will also facilitate investments and business activities.
Among the agreements and MOUs to be discussed and signed during the visit is a ground-breaking agreement to regulate the employment of thousands of Filipino caregivers, who are so valued in Israel. The agreement will protect the workers' rights, ensure equal and fair treatment of them, and cancel all the fees that until now they have been forced to pay to intermediate agents. The agreement will benefit Israel's elderly population and others in need of nursing services and will have positive consequences for similar agreements to be signed with other countries in the future.
In addition, agreements are waiting to be signed in the realms of science and technology, promotion of investments, agreements between chambers of commerce, and the environment.
Hotels in Israel have a shortage of workers, and the Israeli government recently decided to promote agreements in this area. During the visit, the parties will work on an agreement to bring Filipinos to Israel to work in the hotel industry.
The unique story of the Philippines' opening its gates to Jewish refugees from the Holocaust will be highlighted during the visits of the president and his entourage at Yad Vashem and at the Open Doors monument in Rishon Letzion. Joining the visit will be two of the Jewish survivors who found refuge in the Philippines and now live in Israel.