UK minister, PH officials discuss vaccines, economic ties

FILE: Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin, Jr. (left) and United Kingdom Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO) Minister for Asia Nigel Adams, MP (right) (Photo by DFA-OSCR Maria Vanessa Ubac via DFA/Website)

MANILA – Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin Jr. met on Friday with the United Kingdom Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO) Minister for Asia Nigel Adams, MP, who is visiting the Philippines for the first time.

The two officials discussed various aspects of Philippines-UK bilateral relations, including economic cooperation and the situation of overseas Filipino health care workers.

They also had a frank exchange of views on regional and international issues, such as climate change and ASEAN-UK relations.

Locsin and Adams affirmed the long-standing relations between the two countries and cited the launch of the Enhanced Partnership between the Philippines and the UK that would highlight the commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 2021.

The meeting was followed by a working lunch hosted by Locsin and attended by Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, Chief Implementer of the National Policy Against Covid-19 and Vaccine Czar Carlito Galvez, and AstraZeneca Philippines president Lotis Ramin.

There was an informative exchange on the Philippines’ response to the current pandemic and the Covid-19 vaccine being developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University during the lunch.

Locsin was joined by DFA officials led by Ambassador Elizabeth Buensuceso, the officer in charge of the Office of the Undersecretary for Policy, while Adams was joined by officials of the FCDO and UK Embassy in the Philippines led by Ambassador Daniel Pruce. (PR)