22 May 2022 - Ambassador J. Eduardo Malaya conveyed the Philippine Government’s interest to deepen cooperation with the Netherland’s main port city during a courtesy call on Rotterdam Mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb on 18 May 2022 at the historic city hall Stadhuis Rotterdam.
Most of the Philippines’ export products to the Netherlands and other parts of Europe, which is worth over USD 2.3 billion in 2019, enter the port of Rotterdam, Europe’s largest container port. An estimated 22,000 Filipino seafarers who work in Dutch-flagged and other foreign vessels also board or disembark through Rotterdam.
“As a leading gateway to Europe, Rotterdam is significant to Philippine trade and commerce as well as to overseas Filipino workers, and we wish to scale up partnership with your city,” Ambassador Malaya conveyed to Mayor Aboutaleb.
Accompanying Ambassador Malaya were Philippine Consul General, a.h. in Rotterdam Albert Bos, Commercial Counselor Margarita Misolas-Ashley, who is based in Brussels, and Labor Attaché Atty. Delmer Cruz, who is based in Berlin.
Mayor Aboutaleb conveyed readiness to explore areas cooperation with the Philippines, in trade and investments as well as alternative sources of energy and technologies that could help mitigate climate change.
Ambassador Malaya expressed the gratitude of the Philippine Government for the assistance extended by Rotterdam to Filipino and other seafarers, particularly at the height of the pandemic.
The Mayor said that as a “globalist,” he values the contributions to the Dutch maritime fleet of the large number of Filipino seafarers. “Rotterdam is one rare port which remained open during the pandemic to calling ships and their disembarking crews, whether vaccinated or not. We took them in and provided care,” he said.
The Ambassador cited the Royal Association of Netherlands Ship-Owners (KVNR) and the Shipping and Transport College (STC) Group International, both based in Rotterdam, for their long-standing support to the maritime courses and practical nautical training for maritime students of the Palompon Institute of Technology in Leyte, in accordance with international standards. The graduates of the institute are often offered jobs in Dutch vessels. Philippine Consul General Bos is a Director of the STC Group International, which provides education, training, consultancy and research for the maritime and offshore, port and terminals, and transport and logistics industries in Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America.
A major logistic and economic center, Rotterdam is Netherland’s second largest city and Europe's largest seaport. The Rhine, Meuse and Scheldt rivers which flow through the city give it waterway access into the heart of Western Europe, including Germany’s highly industrialized Ruhr valley. Its extensive distribution system including rail, roads, and waterways have earned Rotterdam the nickname "Gateway to Europe."
