On 22 January 2010, Mr. Alfredo S. Lim, Mayor of the Manila City, paid a courtesy call on Mr. Kasit Piromya, Minister of Foreign Affairs, on the occasions of his official visit to Thailand as guest of Bangkok Metropolitan Administration and the Celebration of the 60th Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations between Thailand and the Philippines, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Foreign Minister Kasit expressed pleasure to learn of the increasing cooperation between Bangkok and Manila. He proposed that that apart from the matter of infrastructure development, both cities should also strengthen their socio-cultural cooperation, which is one the three pillars of the ASEAN Community. He was of view that both sides should focus on preserving the cultural heritage sites of the cities i.e. old architectural buildings which could be used as learning center for people in the urban area. Foreign Minister Kasit also emphasized the importance of the connectivity between Bangkok and Manila as well as other the capital cities in Asia under the frameworks of ASEAN+3 and ASEAN+6 on socio-cultural aspects.
Mayor Alfredo thanked the Thai Foreign Minister for warm welcome and hospitality of the Thai people. He expressed his impression at His Majesty the King’s Royal Initiated Projects that he visited, especially in the areas of flooding control, water management, and the Monkey's Cheek Project (Kaem Ling Project). He also agreed with Foreign Minister Kasit’s views on the promotion of socio-cultural cooperation between the two capital cities and stated that Manila stood ready to promote such cooperation.
For further information, please contact the Press Division, Department of Information, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tel.02-6435170, Fax.02-6435169, E-mail: div0704@mfa.go.th