Music Room, Malacañan Palace
12 August 2013

President Benigno S. Aquino III conferred the Order of Sikatuna with the rank of Datu Katangiang Ginto to outgoing Vietnam Ambassador Nguyen Vu Tu in a farewell call held in Malacañang.

Ambassador Vu Tu was commended for his involvement in monitoring issues in the West Philippine Sea such as the Joint Commission on Maritime and Ocean Concerns in 2012 and the 1st Manila Conference on the West Philippine Sea/East Sea in 2011.

In addition, conclusions to various cooperation agreements such as Fisheries, Defense, Academic Cooperation, Oil Spill Preparedness and Response, Search and Rescue at Sea, Establishment of a Hotline Communication Mechanism, and Information Sharing between Navies in 2010 and 2011 were also facilitated by Ambassador Vu Tu.

Apart from strengthening the bilateral relations between the two countries, he encouraged the Vietnamese government to support various Philippine initiatives in the regional and multilateral arenas.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert Del Rosario also witnessed the conferment.

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