Philippine Embassy in Berlin hosts Vin d’ Honneur to commemorate the 115th Anniversary of the Proclamation of Philippine Independence
The Philippine Embassy in Berlin hosted a Vin d’ Honneur on the occasion of the 115th anniversary of the proclamation of Philippine Independence at the Deutsche Bank in Berlin on June 11. The Atrium of the Deutsche Bank was the venue of choice, as the bank has become of one of the leading transaction banks in the Philippines, with significant investments in technology, through the establishments of the Deutsche Knowledge Services, a center for finance, global business services, and information technology. Deutsche Bank official Mr. Bernhard Deppisch gave welcome remarks and spoke of the robust economic outlook for the Philippines.
The event, celebrated with the theme “Kalayaan 2013: Ambagan tungo sa Malawakang Kaunlaran” (Freedom 2013: Contributing Towards Inclusive Development), drew in representatives from the diplomatic corps, the German federal government, the business community, and leaders of Filipino organizations based in Germany. High ranking officials, led by Ambassador Clemens von Goetze, Director-General for Asia of the German Federal Foreign Office (FFO) also graced the event.
Ambassador Maria Cleofe R. Natividad opened the event with her National Day message. The Ambassador, speaking in both German and English, reflected on the year’s theme and said, the Philippine Embassy is “fully in line with the President’s Social Covenant with the people… (the Philippine Embassy) is a steadfast partner in reinforcing and reinvigorating our diplomatic relations with Germany – raising it from the stupor of the previous decade and pushing it to even greater heights in strategic sectors.” Noting the importance of relations with Germany, the Ambassador said: “Germany, an innovation, research, and education world leader, is a strategic partner for the Philippines as it pursues inclusive growth through investments in our human capital.”
The Ambassador called on Germany, as well as the Overseas Filipinos present in Germany, to continue to expand investment and to encourage entrepreneurship and human capital development in the Philippines. As the Philippines and Germany look towards the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations, the Philippines and Germany are exploring new avenues of cooperation in developing a maritime strategic alliance and exporting aspects of Germany’s vocational education system to the Philippines.
The celebration was capped with Filipino cultural presentations from Kontragapi and home-grown Embassy talents Mylah Rubio and husband Jose Mari. The cultural numbers were received with much applause from the enthusiastic audience. (END)
