Secretary of Foreign Affairs Teodoro L. Locsin, Jr. (right) meets High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission Josep Borrell Fontelles (left) on the sidelines of the Ministerial Meeting of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS on 28 June 2021.

Rome, 02 July 2021 - Secretary of Foreign Affairs Teodoro L. Locsin, Jr. had a bilateral meeting with High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission Josep Borrell Fontelles on the sidelines of the Ministerial Meeting of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS on 28 June 2021.

The two sides reaffirmed the importance of further deepening the relations between the ASEAN and the EU and enhancing engagement in areas of mutual interest, such as security cooperation.

Vice-President Borrell Fontelles reiterated the EU’s desire in engaging the whole ASEAN region and conveyed that the EU looks to the Philippines to help strengthen cooperation between the two regions. Secretary Locsin expressed the Philippines’ readiness to assume the coordinatorship for ASEAN-EU Dialogue Relations starting in August 2021.

This was the first face-to-face meeting between the two officials. END