Ambassador confident of stronger Vietnam-Philippines strategic partnership

Celebrating the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic between Vietnam and the Philippines (July 12), the ambassador granted an exclusive interview to VOV, shedding light on the traditional friendship and the prospects of cooperation between the two countries. Following are excerpts from the interview.

VOV: How do you feel after becoming Ambassador of the Philippines to Vietnam? How do you prepare for a life in a country that is different in culture and language?

Amb. Montealegre: It is a distinct honor and privilege for me to serve as the Philippine Ambassador to Vietnam, especially at this stage of the great transformation of this country. Having first visited Vietnam in early 1990s when the country is beginning to implement Doi Moi and few other times before my assignment as Ambassador to Vietnam in December 2020, I had a glimpse of how the country has changed tremendously in terms of economic advancement while maintaining its unique culture and way of life. 

It is equally satisfying since my assignment at this stage provides me an excellent opportunity to cultivate and nurture the close friendly ties between our two countries that was formally established in 1976. This year, we are celebrating the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Philippines and Vietnam.

While looking forward to working closely with the government and people of Vietnam to further enhance the friendly ties between our two countries and peoples, I keep an open mind in order to learn more and gain a deeper appreciation of the fascinating history and culture of Vietnam.

VOV: What fields are you interested in and want to leave mark in the future?

Amb. Montealegre: The first 45 years of our diplomatic relations this year are only a beginning of what could potentially become an even greater partnership in the years ahead. Having forged a Strategic Partnership more than five years ago, the Philippines and Vietnam are poised to further strengthen their ties in areas such as maritime cooperation, protection of the resources in the sea and the management of coastal and marine ecosystems, continued high-level exchanges, regular consultations in both political and economic arenas, and cooperation in various areas including agriculture and forestry, health care, education, labour, information and communications technology, sports, tourism, culture and heritage.

As the Ambassador to Vietnam, I want to continue and improve further on the achievements that the two countries have so far attained in more than four decades in various fields of cooperation. I am committed to seeing the relationship between our two countries reach its vast potential.

VOV: How to create a “boost” for bilateral economic and trade cooperation as the coronavirus pandemic is far from over?

Amb. Montealegre: The economic relations between the two countries were at its peak in 2019 when bilateral trade reached over US$4.5 billion. But due to the pandemic, total trade in 2020 decreased by 14% compared to 2019 amounting to US$4.22 billion, with Vietnam enjoying a trade surplus of US$1.68 billion.

In 2020, Vietnam was the Philippines' 11th largest trading partner, a notch up from 2019, and the latter’s 12th largest export destination. Philippine exports remained at US$1.27 billion, and its top five exports were electrical machinery and parts; nuclear reactors, boilers, mechanical appliances, and parts; copper and articles; plastics and articles; and optical, photographic, medical or surgical instruments, and accessories.

Meanwhile, Vietnam emerged as the 10th largest import source. Philippine imports amounted to US$2.95 billion, down by 19% from 2019 figure. Top five Philippine imports were cereals; electrical machinery and parts thereof; salt, sulphur, earths and stone, lime and cement; iron and steel; and nuclear reactors, boilers, mechanical appliances and parts thereof.

During my meeting with Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien on June 30, 2021, we agreed to revitalize our trade and economic cooperation by convening the Joint Trade Committee (JTC) as soon as possible. We also decided to continue organizing trade promotion activities under the ‘new normal’ brought about by COVID19, facilitate access of products to each other’s markets by pursuing the completion of risk assessment procedures, and forge an agreement on economic cooperation. We likewise agreed to continue our close consultation and cooperation in the multilateral arena.

I also proposed to Minister Dien that the Philippines and Vietnam can pursue collaboration in facing the global market together in the next generation of products and services including low-to-mid-market financial tools created by start-ups; E-commerce start-ups; Business Process Outsourcing (Philippine side) collaboration with IT Outsourcing (Vietnam side) to tackle western markets; and electric vehicle software innovation, parts innovation, charging infrastructure standards, and market development and acceleration of adoption.

To optimize such efforts, Vietnam may also invest in these same sectors in the Philippines. The benefit of collaboration in these sectors is the strength of the Philippines in BPO and KPO and market reach in western economies for these services. For the start-up sector in finance and e-commerce, the combined Philippines and Vietnam markets will be a ripe development ecosystem to approximate the market size of Indonesia which has spawned its own billion-dollar start-ups.

VOV: What sector should Vietnam and the Philippines promote to foster deeper cooperation between the two countries in the coming time?

Amb. Montealegre: Through the “Vietnam-Philippine Plan of Action for Implementation of the Strategic Partnership for 2019-2024,” the two countries have already listed the opportunities to deepen our cooperation to bring our bilateral relations to greater heights. This five-year plan consists of specific initiatives for cooperation in sectors of vital interest such as politics, defense, trade and investment, maritime security, agriculture, education, tourism, environment, ICT, culture and people-to-people exchanges.

In the future, the Strategic Partnership forged between our two countries more than five years ago will be constantly enhanced through the implementation of the said Plan of Action, which was adopted during the 9th Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC) in Manila in March 2019. The JCBC is the established Ministerial-level bilateral dialogue mechanism that takes stock of relations and discusses measures to enhance cooperation in various mutually beneficial areas. The JCBC has also been a venue for reviewing progress in the implementation of the Philippine-Vietnam Plan of Action. As such, the future of bilateral relations between our two countries is in good hands.