Philippines, Croatia hold second consultation in Manila

The Philippines and Croatia on Monday conducted their second political consultation in Manila to enhance their cooperation, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) announced on Tuesday. The second Philippines-Croatia Political Consultation was held at the sub-ministerial level under the terms of the Protocol on Cooperation between the DFA and the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of Croatia signed in 2005, the department said on Tuesday. "The delegations discussed recent developments in the Philippines and Croatia and the current state of bilateral relations between the two countries. They identified ways to further enhance cooperation at the political level and also in defense, trade, investment, tourism and people-to-people exchange as well as to implement activities under the terms of existing bilateral agreements in the field of science and technology, culture and sports," the DFA said. One possible area of cooperation identified during the consultation was shipbuilding where both countries can explore investments and exchange of technology, it added. The Philippine delegation was headed by DFA Undersecretary for Policy Erlinda F. Basilio. She was joined by DFA officials as well as representatives from the Department of Science and Technology ( DOST) and the Board of Investments (BOI). Deputy Foreign and European Affairs Minister Josko Klisovic led the Croatian delegation. Diplomatic relations between the Philippines and Croatia was established on February 25, 1993. As of end June this year, trade between the two countries was estimated at around 4 million U.S. dollars only.