Consul General Ignacio engages in a cordial and animated exchange with SPDA Vice Chair Dao.

Shanghai, 27 May 2021 - Consul General in Shanghai Josel F. Ignacio was warmly received today by the Shanghai Public Diplomacy Association (SPDA) at its Changning District headquarters.
Accompanied by Consul Marlowe A, Miranda, the Consul General was received by SPDA Vice Chairman, Mr. Dao Shuming, Vice Secretary-General Mr. Sun Weimin, and official Mrs. Zhang Ying.
Founded in 2011 as a non-profit social organization and falling under the supervision of the General Office of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference-Shanghai Committee (CPPCC-Shanghai), the SPDA promotes people-to-people exchanges with other countries on culture, tourism, education, science and technology and the economy.
Vice Chairman Dao thanked the Consul General for calling on the SPDA early in his term. Recalling the active cooperation between the Association and the Philippine Consulate General and for the past years, he expressed the hope that such would continue under the Consul General’s leadership. “The Philippine Consulate General we consider to be closest to the SPDA, among all Consulates in Shanghai”, he proudly declared.
The Consul General extended his assurances, citing the importance that the Department of Foreign Affairs itself accords to public diplomacy as one of the pillars of Philippine foreign policy.

Consul Miranda, CG Ignacio, VC Dao, and Vice Secretary General Sun at the meeting’s close.

The two sides acknowledged the value of public diplomacy initiatives in promoting mutual understanding between the Philippines and China and amidst complex issues, allowing other key areas of cooperation and engagement to progress.
Consul General Ignacio and Vice Chairman Dao exchanged ideas on possible cooperation projects, including online activities on commercial, tourism and cultural promotion under the current regime of restrictions on travel around the world.
The SPDA had worked actively with the Consulate General in recent years. It dispatched representatives to three familiarization tours of the Philippines organized by the Department of Tourism between 2017 and 2019. In 2019, it supported Ballet Philippines’ performance at the Shanghai International Dance Center. END