PH Ambassador Santos Lauds ASEAN Students' Cultural Initiatives in Jordan

Philippine Ambassador Wilfredo C. Santos attends and delivers his closing remarks during the closing and awarding ceremony of the ASEAN Students Islamic Festival (ASIF) 2024 held at the Prince Hasan Bin Talal Auditorium at the University of Jordan on 02 March 2024. (Photos courtesy of the Indonesian Students Association in Jordan, and the University of Jordan)

AMMAN 06 March 2024 - In connection with his Chairmanship of ASEAN Committee in Amman (ACA) this year, Philippine Ambassador Wilfredo C. Santos delivered the closing remarks on the ASEAN Students Islamic Festival (ASIF) 2024 held at the Prince Hasan Bin Talal Auditorium at the University of Jordan on 02 March 2024.

The ASIF, now on its second year, was consisted of series of competitions including various Quran recitals. It was organized by the Indonesian Student Association in Jordan (HPMI) not only with the aim to gather and connect ASEAN students, but also to strengthen ASEAN presence in the Jordanian educational institutions like in the University of Jordan.

In his closing remarks, Ambassador Santos said, “It is always a pleasure for me to attend gatherings like this since the event goes hand in hand with the efforts of the ASEAN Committee in Amman (ACA) - composed of the Ambassadors of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand to Jordan - to promote ASEAN in this part of the world.

The Ambassador also added that recently the ACA met with the President of the University of Jordan, Dr. Natheer Obeidat, to discuss possible collaborative undertakings, such as cultural exchanges, academic cooperation, and the establishment of linkages between ASEAN students at different universities in Jordan and the Jordanian academe as part of our cultural diplomacy initiatives.

He thanked the University of Jordan for hosting this event for the benefit of Jordanian and our ASEAN students, and congratulated the Indonesian Students Association in Jordan for organizing this event, and for serving as a bridge in advancing the ASEAN agenda to the Jordanian audience through cultural diplomacy initiatives.

“The ASEAN Students Islamic Festival will certainly strengthen and deepen the understanding and appreciation of cultural similarities between our countries, and serve also to promote our ASEAN values in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,” Ambassador Santos added.

Among the 78 students from Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Singapore who participated in the competition, eight participants came from the Philippines. END

Philippine Ambassador Wilfredo C. Santos (center) meets with Dr. Ala - Director of the International Program, Alumni, and Marketing Unit of the University of Jordan (leftmost), and Mr. Ahmad Al Nabulsi - Embassy of Brunei Clark of Education (rightmost) at the Office of the Dean of the IT Faculty.

Mr. Muhammad Ihsan Sandjaya, Head of Education Division of HPMI Jordan presents a Plaque of Appreciation to Philippine Ambassador Wilfredo C. Santos at the Philippine Embassy on 03 March 2024.

For more information, visit www.ammanpe.dfa.gov.ph, https://www.facebook.com/PHLinJordan/, or https://www.instagram.com/phinjordan/