No ban on Phl bananas to Iran, says DFA

MANILA, Philippines - There is no decision to ban or place obstacles to the importation of Philippine bananas into the Iranian market, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said yesterday.

The DFA said the Philippines obtained clarification from the Iranian side during the Philippines-Iran 5th Joint Advisory Consultative Meeting (JACM) in Tehran on Nov. 27 to 29.

Iran said the problem lies with the difficulty of Iranian importers to open letters of credit with banks in Dubai.

Both sides also agreed that they will discuss ways to solve any problem surrounding the importation of Philippine bananas into Iran.

Leading their respective delegations were Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Rafael Seguis and Iranian Foreign Affairs Deputy Minister for Asia and Oceania Mohammad Ali Fatholahi.

The delegations exchanged views on bilateral issues as well as on regional an international affairs. 

Seguis and Fatholahi agreed that the Philippines and Iran enjoy good relations and are both agreed to further promote bilateral relations in the political, economic and cultural areas, as well as explore new opportunities for cooperation.

“Since the establishment of the diplomatic relations between our countries in the early ’70s, our ties have grown stronger. Over the years, we have entered into no less than 32 agreements, exchanged high-level visits, increased bilateral cooperation, and intensified people-to-people contact. It becomes imperative, therefore, that we sustain this momentum and mount up activities in key, as well as latent, areas of cooperation,” Seguis said.

The discussions also cover topics such as agriculture, commerce, trade, consular relations and transnational crime.

After the JACM, Seguis and Fatholahi signed the Executive Program of the Tourism Cooperation Memorandum between the Department of Tourism of the Philippines and Iran’s Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization for 2011-2014.

The agreement aims to expand and strengthen tourism cooperation between the Philippines and Iran through: Exchange of information, other promotional materials and statistical on tourism; cooperation on tourism-related programs; exchange of information and documentation in the fields of hotel and professional training of personnel employed in the tourism sector; introduction and establishment of connections between training institutes and centers of both countries in the fields of hotel, hospitality and tourism, and; encouragement of both country’s private sector to cooperate on tourism programs of common interest, such as organizing tourism exhibitions and technical seminars.

Seguis also met with Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, who extended invitations to President Benigno S. Aquino Jr. and Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo to visit Iran.