Pinoys ready to be hired for massive Iraqi reconstruction effort

Manila, Philippines – The Philippines has conveyed to the Iraqi government its commitment to assist in the manpower requirements of Iraq amid a massive reconstruction effort, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said yesterday.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario reiterated on Thursday the Philippines’ commitment during a bilateral meeting with visiting Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari at the Diamond Hotel.

Del Rosario said, “The Philippine government constantly monitors the security developments in Iraq and will continue to study the current alert level and adjust it accordingly based on the security situation on the ground.”

“The POEA (Philippine Overseas employment Administration) has lifted the deployment ban on Kurdistan which serves as a good starting point for our labor cooperation,” he added.

Zebari arrived in Manila on Wednesday for a three-day official visit, which is an important milestone in Philippine-Iraq relations as it is the first visit of an Iraqi Foreign Minister to the Philippines since the establishment of Philippine-Iraq diplomatic relations 37 years ago.

During the bilateral meeting, Del Rosario and his Iraqi counterpart exchanged views on several issues and affirmed their commitment to strengthen bilateral relations in the areas of trade, labor and political cooperation.

The two officials also discussed the current security situation in Iraq as well as the total deployment ban for Filipino workers to Iraq, except Kurdistan.

Both sides also expressed their commitment to hold the 7th Philippine-Iraq Joint Commission meeting later this year. The last Philippine-Iraq JCM was held on Jan. 23-25, 2009 in Manila.

The two officials signed the Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation between the DFA and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iraq.

The signing of this agreement will establish a formal mechanism where the foreign ministries of both sides can discuss sensitive issues that affect their common interests and relations, and also to exchange diplomatic insights and activities through joint visits and seminars.

“This memorandum of understanding between our foreign ministries will complement the Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) and can focus on political and security discussions,” Del Rosario said.

The DFA said relations between Iraq and the Philippines have been strengthened after the visit of Del Rosario to Iraq on Jan. 29, 2102.

During his visit to Iraq, Del Rosario invited Zebari to conduct an official visit to the Philippines that is an opportunity for the two countries to discuss issues from the overall bilateral relations and treat the matter separately to allow full focus on advancing the important bilateral agenda between the Philippines and Iraq.

Iraq and the Philippines established diplomatic relations on Jan. 12, 1975 and the Philippine embassy in Baghdad opened on Sept. 19, 1980.

The Philippines moved its embassy from Baghdad to the Jordanian capital Amman in 2003. Iraq closed its embassy in Manila in September 2003, but diplomatic relations between the two countries were not interrupted.

The Philippine embassy in Baghdad reopened last November. –Pia Lee-Brago (The Philippine Star)