In his interview to the Jahon [news] agency after the trip, Ambassador Aladin G. Villacorte said that the key objective of his mission to Tashkent was to determine fields for activating the Uzbek-Philippine relations.

As the Philippine ambassador said, political consultations between the foreign ministries of the two countries, which the sides agreed to hold at the meeting at the Uzbek Ministry of Foreign Affairs, should become an important factor in the political dialogue.

"Certainly, there are vast untapped opportunities for developing trade and economic relations. The bilateral trade which amounted to about 1m dollars in 2006 does not reflect the economic potential of the two countries at all," the ambassador said. Therefore, he noted that mutual visits of our countries’ business representatives should become an important step towards developing economic relations.

There are good opportunities for cooperation in the tourism sector as well, considering the fact that Uzbekistan is rich in historical and architectural sights.

"Taking this opportunity, I would like to confirm the commitment of the Philippine government to develop mutually beneficial bilateral relations with Uzbekistan in all spheres," the ambassador said in conclusion.