Philippine Ambassador H.E. Christopher B. Montero, together with Pengiran Yura Kesteria PSN Pg Yusuf, Chairperson of the Brunei Darussalam BIMP-EAGA Business Council (BD-BEBC), and H.E. Dr. Sujatmiko, Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia during the ceremonial ribbon cutting at the BIMP EAGA Tertiary Industry Forum Showcase 2019 & World Halal Culinary Championship 2019.
18 November 2019, Bandar Seri Begawan – Filipino tourism, cultural and food products were on display at the recently-concluded BIMP-EAGA Tertiary Industry Forum Showcase 2019 & World Halal Culinary Championship 2019 held at the Perpaduan Hall of the International Convention Center (ICC) in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam.
Organized by the Brunei Darussalam BIMP-EAGA Business Council (BD-BEBC) from 10 to 12 November 2019, the event aims to strengthen cooperation among BIMP-EAGA countries in the tertiary industry especially on logistic services, supply chain, cross border trading, online to offline business, food manufacturing and network marketing.
The Executive Chairman of the BD-BEDC Pengiran Yura Kesteria PSN Pg Yusuf, together with Philippine Ambassador Christopher B. Montero and Indonesian Ambassador Dr. Sujatmiko formally opened the event.
The Philippine Embassy mounted a country booth at the Expo, putting in full display t’nalak fabrics and colorful Maranao landap cloths, as well as posters of Philippine tourist destinations. Filipino entrepreneurs in Brunei likewise participated by showcasing Filipino cultural and artisan products during the three-day event.
One of the important highlights of the event was the signing of eight (8) business-to-business agreements among various companies from the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand. For the Philippines, the agreement signed involved Reefer Pilipinas Express Line, Inc., a PH logistics company based in Manila and Davao that recently launched its BIMP-EAGA sea cargo route, which was represented during the signing by its CEO, Mr. Felix Ishizuka.
Reefer Pilipinas utilizes a conventional type vessel with load capacity up of to 290 TEU containers, and 10,000 loose cargoes. It undertook its maiden voyage at Ho Chi Minh Port in June 2019, traversing Malaysia’s Labuan and Sepanggar, and Indonesia’s Bitung and Ternate, before docking at Davao City’s Kudos Port. With the agreement, Reefer Pilipinas will be able to add Muara Port in Brunei Darussalam in its shipping routes.
At the first-ever World Halal Culinary Championship 2019 participated in by twelve (12) teams comprised of professional chefs from Brunei and other countries, Filipino celebrity chef Eugenio Ramon “Gene” Gonzalez served as one of the invited judges. Chef Gonzalez also appeared at the morning television show ‘Rampai Pagi” where he promoted Philippine cuisine and did a demonstration on Ensaladang Kasag (Crab Fat Salad).END
Philippine Ambassador H.E. Christopher B. Montero, together with Filipino Celebrity Chef Gene Gonzalez and the officers of the Philippine Embassy pose for a photo at the Philippine booth during the opening ceremony of the BIMP EAGA Tertiary Industry Forum Showcase 2019 & World Halal Culinary Championship 2019.
Some of the Philippine-made products at the Philippine booth during the BIMP EAGA Tertiary Industry Forum Showcase 2019 & World Halal Culinary Championship 2019.
Filipino Celebrity Chef Gene Gonzalez (left photo: 3rd from right) promoting Philippine cuisine and ingredients at the television morning show “Rampai Pagi”. Chef Gonzalez also made Ensaladang Kasag (Crab Fat Salad) during the show.
Ambassador Christopher B. Montero (6th from left) and Atty. Malou Montero (5th from left) pose for a group photo with officials from Brunei Darussalam-BIMP EAGA Business Council and from Reefer Pilipinas Express Inc, Chef Gene Gonzalez, and PTIC-Singapore Commercial Counsellor Cynthia Ricafort at a lunch hosted at the Ambassador’s Official Residence.
