Elysée Palace, Paris
17 September 2014 

President Benigno S. Aquino III and French Republic President Francois Hollande witnessed the signing of four agreements after their bilateral talks at Elysée Palace in Paris.

First is the updated Air Services Agreement that will allow direct flights between Manila and Paris. Philippine Secretary of Transportation and Communications Joseph Emilio Abaya and French Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Development Laurent Fabius signed the agreement that will help boost the tourism and economic trade for both countries. The last direct flight between Paris and Manila was in 2004 by AirFrance before its merging with KLM.

Second is the administrative arrangement between the Chairman of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts of the Republic of the Philippines and the Minister of Culture and Communication of the French Republic on the 2014-2016 Executive Program of the Cultural Cooperation Agreement. It was signed by Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. and Minister of Culture and Communication Fleur Pellerin. This will provide for visiting artists, heritage restoration and conservation and cultural management, among others.

Another is a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP) and the French National School for Administration or Ecole Nationale d’ Administration (ENA). The MOU that will provide for academic exchanges, particularly in the field of the training of public servants was signed by DAP President Antonio Kalaw and ENA Director Nathalie Loiseau.

The last is a commercial agreement between Globe Telecom-Group Ayala and French telecommunications firm Alcatel-Lucent. Globe Telecom Board of Directors Member Fernando Zobel de Ayala and Alcatel –Lucent Shanghai Bell Company President and CEO Michel Combes signed the agreement that will be for the transition of Globe’s network 3G technology to 4G.

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