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December 18, 2001

THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES AND THE GOVERNMENT OF THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN, HEREINAFTER REFERRED TO AS THE PARTIES,

DESIRING to enhance the sincere relations existing between the two countries;

CONSIDERING that tourism is a potential factor in cultural and economic development;

AWARE of the importance of tourism as an instrument to encourage dialogue among civilizations;

HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS:

ARTICLE 1
GENERAL PROVISION

The Parties shall, subject to their respective laws and regulations, develop and promote cooperation in the field of tourism on the basis of reciprocity and mutual benefit.

ARTICLE II
EXECUTING AGENCIES

The Government of the Republic of the Philippines designates the Department of Tourism as the agency responsible for the enforcement of its rights and the implementation of its obligations under this Memorandum of Understanding.

The Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran designates the Iran Touring and Tourism Organization, Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance as the agency responsible for the enforcement of its rights and the implementation of its obligations under this Memorandum of Understanding.

ARTICLE III
AREAS OF COOPERATION

The Parties, in conformity with their internal policies, laws and regulations, shall encourage collaboration in the following areas of cooperation:

1. The Parties shall endeavor to develop uniform tourism standards and practices to facilitate the inflow of foreign tourists into their respective territories in line with the standards established by the World Tourism Organization, in which both Parties are members and shall exchange any information on these concerns every six months;

2. The Parties shall encourage and promote individual or group travel by their respective citizens and citizens of third countries to the Philippines and Iran. To attain this objective, the Parties shall facilitate and encourage the fostering of commercial tourism activities and services such as travel agencies, tourism operations and businesses, hotel chains, airline and maritime links, and other tourism-related endeavors;

3. Whenever practicable, the Parties shall undertake joint promotion programs involving collaboration on advertising materials, development of tour packages, production and exchange of brochures, photographs, including slides and video compact discs, and films about their respective tourist attractions/destinations, inter alia.

The joint promotion shall also include a “twinning program” whereby each Contracting Party shall promote and sell the other’s destinations jointly with its own in international tourist markets through joint tourism programs, as well as encourage tourists visiting the countries of the Contracting Parties to extend their visits to each other’s destinations;

4. Each Party may establish and operate a representative tourism office in the territory of the other Party, without engaging in any activity of a commercial character. It is understood that the Parties shall assist each other in the establishment of this office in each other’s territory. In this vein, the Parties shall provide the facilities within their means for the installation and operation of their own office. The procedure of establishing the Parties’ representative offices shall be regulated by the current legislation of the Philippines and Iran and as agreed by the Parties through Protocols, which shall form an integral part of this Agreement;

5. The Parties, through their designated executing agencies, shall endeavor to promote exchange visits of their public officials and tourism experts in order to obtain a better understanding of each other’s tourism infrastructure and to ascertain the areas requiring the expertise and transfer of technology;

6. The Parties shall encourage participation in activities such as international tourism exhibitions, cultural, sports and scientific events, seminars, conferences and fairs, as well as similar activities aimed at tourism promotion and environmental protection of tourist destinations being held in their countries;

7. The two Parties shall assist each other and shall endeavor to develop a mechanism that will encourage communication and cooperation among their youth and educational institutions on matters concerning the exchange of students and experts in the field of tourism study;

8. The Parties will exchange information on the following, inter alia:

a. tourism resources;

b. tourism services being offered;

c. experiences in the field of hotel administration and related matters;

d. current legislation for the promotion/regulation of tourism activities and the conservation of the natural, historical and cultural edifices and other resources with tourism value, as well as experiences in the field of hotel administration and related matters;

e. studies and research pertaining to tourism activities; and

f. personnel and staff professional training.

ARTICLE IV
JOINT COMMISSION

1. To ensure the implementation of this Memorandum of Understanding, the Parties shall establish a Joint Committee composed of an equal number of representatives from both sides as may be agreed upon through diplomatic channels.

2. The Joint Committee shall formulate and submit policy recommendations with the end in view of promoting the development of tourism and related fields of both countries. It shall also be responsible for planning, implementing, monitoring and evaluating projects identified under their Memorandum of Understanding.

3. As may be necessary, the Joint Committee may create “Working Group(s)” for specific areas. For this purpose, the Joint Committee shall determine the procedure and other guidelines to be followed by the Working Group(s) to ensure efficiency.

4. An official representative from both sides shall be designated in order to coordinate with concerned agencies and deal with daily and routine work of the Joint Committee and any Working Group thus established.

5. The Joint Committee shall meet on a date to be determined by mutual agreement, alternately in the Republic of the Philippines and the Islamic Republic of Iran, with a representative from the host country as chairman of the meeting. Whenever necessary, an interim meeting may be held subject to agreement between the Parties through diplomatic channels.

6. The agenda of the meeting will include the drafting of the working plans and a review of the progress of the implementation of projects undertaken pursuant to this Memorandum of Understanding.

ARTICLE V
DISPUTE SETTLEMENT

Any difference or dispute arising from the interpretation or implementation of the provisions of this Memorandum of Understanding shall be settled by consultations or negotiations, through diplomatic channels.

Any amendment or revision to the text of this Memorandum of Understanding shall be done by mutual consent of the Parties. This amendment or revision shall enter into force in accordance with the Article on entry into force.

ARTICLE VII
ENTRY INTO FORCE AND VALIDITY

This Memorandum of Understanding shall enter into force on the date of the later written notification by either Party, through diplomatic channels indicating compliance with their respective domestic requirements for its entry into force.

This Memorandum of Understanding shall remain valid for a period of six years and shall automatically be renewed for similar periods unless a Party serves a written notification to the other, through diplomatic channels, of its desire to suspend or terminate this Memorandum of Understanding. In such a case, the Memorandum of Understanding shall remain valid until thirty (30) days after the date on which one Party receives an official notification from the other Party expressing the desire of the latter to suspend or terminate the validity of this Memorandum of Understanding.

This termination of this memorandum of Understanding shall not affect the implementation of ongoing programs and activities, which have been agreed upon while the Memorandum was in force.

DONE in Manila on 18 December 2001 in one copy in English.