CEBU CITY — Newly-installed Israeli Ambassador to the Philippines Rafael Harpaz met with Cebuano business leaders on Tuesday and discussed ways to boost the economic cooperation between the two countries.
“I’m here in Cebu to further strengthen our economic relations with the Philippines,” Harpaz told the local media after his meeting with some members of the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) at the CCCI Boardroom.
Harpaz said Cebu has also become a favorite tourist destination among Israelis. He said more tour operators in Israel are promoting packaged holiday trips to the province.
“The Philippines is easy to sell in Israel. This is why we encouraged the Philippine Airlines (PAL) to open direct flights to Tel Aviv from Manila and vice versa,” Harpaz said.
These direct flights translate to economic growth for both countries through tourism because these would bring more Filipino pilgrims to the Holy Land and Israeli tourists to the beautiful islands of the Philippines, Harpaz said.
More joint business ventures between Israel and the Philippines could also be forged with the opening of the direct Manila-Tel Aviv flights, he added.
The ambassador said the Israelis owe the Filipinos a great deal as the Philippines did not only open its doors for the more than a thousand Jews during the Holocaust but was also the only Asian country to “vote ‘yes’ for the independence of Israel” in the United Nations’ General Assembly in 1947.
Harpaz also met and forged ties with some local government officials.
On Monday, he paid courtesy calls on Governor Hilario Davide III, Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña, and Mandaue City Mayor Luigi Quisumbing.
The new Israeli envoy was accompanied by his wife, Shulamit, and honorary consul Emily Chioson. (Luel Galarpe/PNA)
