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August 21, 2001

The Philippine Delegation was headed by the Honorable Evelyn B. Pantig, Vice Chairperson of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts and Undersecretary of Tourism. The Mexican Delegation was headed by His Excellency Enrique Hubbard Urrea, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United Mexican States to the Republic of the Philippines. The list of members of each of the delegations appears as Annex I.

At the opening of die meeting, Ms. Pantig warmly welcomed the Mexican Delegation and noted the great similarities between the cultures of the Philippines and Mexico, which were brought closer together by the historic Galleon route. The cultural ties also reflect the strong character of their peoples. She expressed the hope that the meeting will provide another venue to strengthen the fraternal ties between the Philippines and Mexico, deepen their knowledge and appreciation of each other's cultures, and allow them to share in the benefits of the new world of information and technology in a globalized environment.

For his part, Ambassador Hubbard thanked the Filipino people for their hospitality and noted that in spite of the great geographic distance between them, the history and cultures of the two countries have been linked for centuries. He also noted the fundamental issues that should be addressed at the beginning of the 21st century, such as heritage conservation, cultural diversity and cooperation, education and formation, mobility of students and members of die academe, and new information technologies.

The delegations conducted an evaluation of the educational and cultural relations between the two countries after the Program for Educational and Cultural Cooperation for die years 1997-2000 was signed on 9 May 1997. 1The evaluation reports of the Mexican and Philippine Delegations appear as Annex II-A and Annex II-B, respectively.

The Parties agreed on actions in the areas of basic education, intermediate and higher education, human resource development, diplomatic studies and international relations, teaching of languages, intellectual property7 tights, archeology and anthropology, international festivals, museology, visual arts, international book festivals, archives and libraries, radio, television and cinematography, youth and sports, and cooperation on matters regarding education and culture in multilateral fora.

In this regard, the Parties approved the Program for Educational and Cultural Cooperation for the period 2001-2004, which appears as Annex III-A and Annex III-B. The Financing and General Conditions for the Implementation of the Program appears as Annex IV.

This Program shall be valid for three years from the date of its signature. In case no Joint Commission Meeting is held after this period has elapsed, the current Program shall be valid until the signature of the next Program.

The Fourth Meeting of the Joint Commission for Educational and Cultural Cooperation shall take place in Mexico. The date of the meeting shall be agreed upon through diplomatic channels.

Done in the City of Manila this 21st day of August 2001 in two originals in the English and Spanish languages, both texts being equally authentic.