Berlin. 30 October 2012. Ambassador Maria Cleofe Natividad met with officials of the German Federal Ministry of Defence (Bundesministerium der Verteidigung) led by Gen. Hans-Werner Wiermann on 29 October 2012 to discuss the state of bilateral defense cooperation. Ambassador Natividad personally thanked Gen. Wiermann for the Ministry’s offer of training scholarships for Philippine military officers. The Ministry allocated slots for the participation of Philippine military officers in training conducted in the English language, including for the one-month UN Military Observer Course. Military training assistance, in the form of such scholarships, is one of the Ministry’s tools for international military cooperation with Germany’s partners.
The Philippine Embassy and the German Ministry of Defence are also exploring other ways to deepen the bilateral security cooperation.
Germany is an economic powerhouse in Europe and shares common democratic values with the Philippines. As a matter of German foreign policy, Germany’s security interests include advocating the universality of human rights and principles of democracy and promoting global respect for international law. END