CANBERRA, Australia – Philippine Ambassador to Australia, H.E. Ma. Hellen B. De La Vega called on Hon. Tony Smith MP, Speaker of the House of Representatives, on 06 February 2019 at Parliament House. Ambassador De La Vega and Hon Smith discussed the importance of parliamentary exchanges between the Philippines and Australia. Ambassador De La Vega said that Victoria, the home state of the Speaker, hosts around 70,000 Filipinos and she thanked Australia for the excellent treatment of Filipinos who have integrated well in Australia’s multicultural society. The Speaker said that there is a high degree of familiarity between the Philippines and Australia owing to the large presence of Filipinos in Australia and the visits made by Australians to the Philippines.

Philippine Ambassador to Australia, H.E. Ma. Hellen B. De La Vega, paid a courtesy call on Mr. Tony Smith, Speaker of the House of Representatives of Australia on 06 February 2019 at Parliament House.

In the meeting, the Ambassador noted that the Victoria International Container Terminal located in the Port of Melbourne is owned and managed by Philippine firm, ICTSI. ICTSI designed and constructed the state of the art container terminal.

Ambassador De La Vega shared that the Philippines and Australia will be celebrating the 75th Anniversary of the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations in 2021. END