New US envoy: RP, US have ‘an important relationship’

"We have an important relationship."

New US Ambassador Kristie Anne Kenney gave this assurance when she called on Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo at the Department of Foreign Affairs offices in Pasay City yesterday.

Kenney, on her fourth day in the country, was accompanied by Chargé d’Affaires Paul Jones and Deputy Press Attaché Stacy MacTaggert.

She is expected to present her credentials to President Arroyo at Malacañang tomorrow before she officially performs her functions as chief of mission at the US Embassy in Manila.

Kenney said the Philippines is a longstanding ally of the US and became a "major non-NATO ally" in 2003, a formal status reserved for a handful of countries worldwide.

She also underscored that the US and the Philippines share common goals designed to make the world more secure and more prosperous.

Romulo told Kenney that he read about her statement before the US Senate foreign relations committee, in which she emphasized the strength, the breadth and the importance of US-Philippine relations.

"I was reading your statement before the US Senate foreign relations committee, and it was very good," he said. "I have to thank you for your kind and gracious remarks (on the Philippines)."

Romulo recalled that US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice announced during their meeting last May that Washington would nominate a very good envoy to Manila to replace Ambassador Francis Ricciardone, who was named ambassador to Cairo.

"I remember that during my visit with Dr. Rice, she said after we talked for 30 minutes that ‘We will give you a very good ambassador,’" he said.

Kenney, a career diplomat, said she was thrilled to be given the Philippine posting.

Romulo also told Kenney, who was reportedly Rice’s personal choice, that she could also talk to Mrs. Arroyo in Spanish when they meet for the presentation of her credentials.

"Talk to the President in Spanish," he said.

Prior to her assignment to the Philippines, Kenney who speaks Spanish, served as ambassador to Ecuador.

"I hope so," she told Romulo. "I will lose this one (Spanish speaking) if I am not practicing."

Kenney said in a chance interview after her call on Romulo that she had a chance to see a little bit of Manila and to attend Mass at the Manila Cathedral on Sunday.

"I am looking forward to presenting my credentials and getting to work," she said.

"Once I do that, I look forward to meeting and talking to all of you. I have to present my credentials so that I can officially represent my country.

"I am delighted to be here and I look forward to working with you," she told the media.

Kenney arrived in Manila last Friday to assume her duties as President Bush’s personal representative in the Philippines.

She was met by Foreign Affairs deputy chief of protocol Adelio Cruz at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

During her arrival speech, Kenney said she was "absolutely thrilled" to be in the Philippines.

"This is one of the most special countries for the United States," she said. "We have such a long relationship, and we feel very close as people. I can’t wait to see the country and to meet all of you personally."

She is married to William Brownfield, a senior Foreign Service Officer, currently US ambassador to Caracas, Venezuela.

Kenney was recently sworn in for her new assignment by Secretary Rice.

Philippine Ambassador to the US Albert del Rosario is optimistic that because Kenney was handpicked by Rice "it is presumed that she’s very good."

"We look forward to working with her," he said. "Kenney will be the first woman ambassador to the Philippines."

Kenney told the US Senate committee on foreign relations deliberating on her nomination that she would work to promote US interests by developing a relationship with the leadership and people of the Philippines to benefit both nations.

"I believe our historic relationship with the Philippines will continue to flourish as we pursue our common vision of peace, stability, and prosperity," she told the panel.

Prior to serving as ambassador to Ecuador, Kenney held senior positions at the State Department and National Security Council in Washington, as well as overseas positions in Geneva, Argentina, and Jamaica.