Ambassador lauds PHL community in UK
United Kingdom (UK) Ambassador to the Philippines Stephen Lillie praised Filipinos in the UK for their significant contributions to their host country.
Lillie told a recent roundtable discussion in London that Filipinos have had "a varied and diverse contribution to British society and the British way of life."
"(The Filipino community has been) an important part of the bilateral relations, which has been strong and very good," he said, according to a news release on the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) website.
There are some 250,000 Filipinos living and working in the United Kingdom, with a great majority located in the Greater London Area.
Most Filipinos are employed in the health sector, with around 30,000 working as nurses in public and private hospitals and clinics.
Meanwhile, some 10,000 Britons live in the Philippines, mostly as expatriates, spouses and retirees.
Emerging power
Lillie said the new British government recognizes the potential of the Philippines as an "emerging power" and looks to developing an "even stronger and dynamic" bilateral partnership.
He noted the Philippines has been "growing in economic and political significance, and will play an increasingly big and important role in the world."
Lillie made the statement at a roundtable dialogue arranged by the Embassy and the Philippine Desk of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on May 11.
Represented in the roundtable was a cross-section of the Filipino community, with around 30 community leaders from sectors such as nurses, postal workers, household workers, students, second-generation Filipinos and businesses.
They exchanged views with Lillie on bilateral economic relations, the UK's assistance in the Mindanao peace process, labor migration matters, and the need to improve educational linkages between the two countries.
Embassy Chargé d'Affaires (CDA) Reynaldo Catapang indicated that the activity was worth repeating.
"We think this is a good and constructive initiative as it could forge closer relationship between our two countries. We have been fortunate to have such good, committed and responsible community leaders who have become our indispensable partners in community building in the UK," Catapang said.
He recalled that similar activities had been done with previous British Ambassadors to the Philippines, but noted that the "intimate, small-group discussion yielded a more robust exchange."
"Perhaps it would be good for community leaders to have similar dialogues with other top British officials, starting with Foreign Office Minister Jeremy Browne who is visiting the Philippines for the second time this coming June," he said.
Catapang also said the activity was "a positive prelude" to the second Philippines-United Kingdom High-Level Meeting to be held in Manila on May 23.
The High-Level Meeting is the main institutional mechanism for coordinating bilateral activities between the two countries.
It will be co-chaired by Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Erlinda Basilio and Foreign Office Asia Pacific Director Peter Wilson. - VVP, GMA News
Lillie told a recent roundtable discussion in London that Filipinos have had "a varied and diverse contribution to British society and the British way of life."
"(The Filipino community has been) an important part of the bilateral relations, which has been strong and very good," he said, according to a news release on the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) website.
There are some 250,000 Filipinos living and working in the United Kingdom, with a great majority located in the Greater London Area.
Most Filipinos are employed in the health sector, with around 30,000 working as nurses in public and private hospitals and clinics.
Meanwhile, some 10,000 Britons live in the Philippines, mostly as expatriates, spouses and retirees.
Emerging power
Lillie said the new British government recognizes the potential of the Philippines as an "emerging power" and looks to developing an "even stronger and dynamic" bilateral partnership.
He noted the Philippines has been "growing in economic and political significance, and will play an increasingly big and important role in the world."
Lillie made the statement at a roundtable dialogue arranged by the Embassy and the Philippine Desk of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on May 11.
Represented in the roundtable was a cross-section of the Filipino community, with around 30 community leaders from sectors such as nurses, postal workers, household workers, students, second-generation Filipinos and businesses.
They exchanged views with Lillie on bilateral economic relations, the UK's assistance in the Mindanao peace process, labor migration matters, and the need to improve educational linkages between the two countries.
Embassy Chargé d'Affaires (CDA) Reynaldo Catapang indicated that the activity was worth repeating.
"We think this is a good and constructive initiative as it could forge closer relationship between our two countries. We have been fortunate to have such good, committed and responsible community leaders who have become our indispensable partners in community building in the UK," Catapang said.
He recalled that similar activities had been done with previous British Ambassadors to the Philippines, but noted that the "intimate, small-group discussion yielded a more robust exchange."
"Perhaps it would be good for community leaders to have similar dialogues with other top British officials, starting with Foreign Office Minister Jeremy Browne who is visiting the Philippines for the second time this coming June," he said.
Catapang also said the activity was "a positive prelude" to the second Philippines-United Kingdom High-Level Meeting to be held in Manila on May 23.
The High-Level Meeting is the main institutional mechanism for coordinating bilateral activities between the two countries.
It will be co-chaired by Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Erlinda Basilio and Foreign Office Asia Pacific Director Peter Wilson. - VVP, GMA News
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