Philippines and Cambodia Sign Agreements
Four agreements were signed between the Philippines and Cambodia during the state visit of the President to the Kingdom of Cambodia from 13 to 14 December 2016.
- Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) concerning the cooperation in the field of labor.
- Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport of the Cambodia and Philippine Sports Commission on Sports Cooperation
- The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on cooperation in combating transnational crimes.
- The Implementing Program of Tourism Cooperation of 2016 to 2020
The agreement on the Implementing Program of Tourism Cooperation of 2016 to 2020 was signed between Philippines Tourism Secretary Wanda Corazon T. Teo and Cambodian Minister Dr. Thong Kon.
In an interview with the BusinessMirror during the visit of Cambodian Minister Dr. Thong Kon to Manila on 25 January 2016, Khon said: “We want to increase more flights [between the Philippines and Cambodia] because there are a lot of outbound Filipino [travelers] who want to fly direct to Siem Reap. But also, we have 1 million outbound Cambodian [tourists] every year. So they also want to visit the Philippines.”1
Department of Tourism Secretary Wanda Teo said she expects a significant increase in the visitor arrivals from Cambodia, noting that this year’s January to August visitor arrivals from Cambodia registered a meager 2,381. According to a report, from January to September 2016, visitor arrivals from Cambodia rose 5 percent to a meager 2,662.1 In 2015, the Philippines can be accounted for 84,677 visitor arrivals to Cambodia, and for the first half of this year, the number is at 70,680.
“Now is the best time to involve our Cambodian friends in our Tourism programs and initiatives. We would be happy to help them further as they promised to do the same for us,” Secretary Teo said.
According to the Tourism Cooperation pact signed, air accessibility and route development will be given priority. “Coordination with respective airline companies and civil aviation authorities will be undertaken towards the launch of direct flights from Manila to Phnom Penh and Siem Reap,” Secretary Teo disclosed.
The Tourism Cooperation Treaty between the two countries also stipulates the creation of a Joint working group that will serve as platform for both countries to present their corresponding environmentally sustainable and socially responsible tourism development and cultural preservation programs, as well as, experiences in the governance of the tourism industry, enforcement of tourism laws and regulations, and conservation of cultural heritage sites.
Secretary Teo said it also has been agreed that the 3rd Joint working group will meet in Siem Reap in June 2017 while the fourth meeting will take place in the Philippines in the last quarter of 2017.
Also present in the signing at the Peace Palace were Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea and Secretaries Perfecto Yasay, Jr (DFA), Silvestre Bello III (DOLE), Delfin Lorenzana (DND), Ramon Lopez (DTI) and Bong Go (PMS). ●