RIYADH, 17 June 2005 — A trade delegation from Manila will soon visit the Kingdom as part of the continuing effort to improve Saudi-Philippine relations, the Philippine envoy in Riyadh has said.
Ambassador Bahnarim Guinomla mentioned the planned visit during the diplomatic reception hosted by the Philippine Embassy on Sunday night in celebration of the country's Independence Day.
The visit, which is being planned before Ramadan, is to reciprocate the visit made by a Saudi Shoura members and businessmen to Manila early this year, Guinomla told Dr. Nasser Dawood, director-general of the Riyadh Governor’s Office.
Dawood was the guest of honor during the reception at Sheraton Hotel. Guinomla said the private sectors of both the Philippines and Saudi Arabia are trying to agree on the exact date.
During the visit to Manila, which was organized by the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry and the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Saudi team also visited southern Philippine region of Mindanao, home to more than 5 million Muslims.
Guinomla also updated Dawood on what the embassy has been doing to further strengthen the ties between the two countries.
The ambassador also visited Makkah and Madinah recently and met with the members and officers of the chambers of commerce and industry of both cities.
Apart from Dawood and members of the diplomatic community, prominent members of the Philippine business circle in the Kingdom were also invited.
Among them were James G. Oliver, country manager of the Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) in Saudi Arabia, and the Jeddah-based Emy L. De Guzman of Sky Freight Forwarders.
The diplomatic reception capped the series of activities organized by the embassy and the Filipino community in Riyadh.
On June 9, the embassy hosted leaders of the community from the Eastern, Central and Riyadh Regions to a buffet dinner, which also featured various cultural presentations including a show of Filipino costumes, songs and dances and a Flores de Mayo parade.
A fiesta followed the next day at the embassy. Sports tournaments and parlor games were played, food stalls selling Filipino delicacies and meals made brisk business, volunteers gave free medical and dental services, the Pag-ibig and SSS attended to their members, while the Labor Section put up an information center and residents of Bahay Kalinga displayed their handicraft items for sale.
Other activities included Karaoke (sing-along for a cause), libreng tawag (free calls to the Philippines), a photo exhibit and a spelling bee.
Donation boxes were also placed around the chancery’s lobby for the government’s classroom project.
Those who could not visit the embassy were not left out. Ambassador Guinomla visited a huge crowd of Filipinos at Manila Plaza in Batha to personally extend greetings of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and Foreign Secretary Alberto G. Romulo.
Joining him were Sheikh Ali Al Rajhi and Ghassan Attiya of Manila Plaza and some community leaders and staff of the Philippine Mission. (Rodolfo Estimo Jr.)
