Davao del Norte – A Malaysian diplomat expressed openness to the idea of a sisterhood agreement between Davao del Norte and a province in his country.

Rizany Irwan Bin Muhamad Mazlan, Deputy Chief of Mission of the Embassy of Malaysia, nodded in the affirmative when Governor Anthony del Rosario conveyed Davao del Norte’s interest in forging possible sisterhood ties with some provinces in Malaysia.

“We share a lot of similarities, in terms of culture, food, cloth and even language,” the diplomat said.

He even cited some linguistic commonalities of the Pilipino with the Malay language, being sisters in the Austronesian language family. 

Del Rosario was upbeat about being able to establish contact and foster cordial, economic and cultural relations with any province of Malaysia.

“I hope this will be the start of our fruitful relationship with Malaysia,” he beamed. “We can learn a lot from them.”

Mazlan graced the opening of the BIMP-EAGA Tourism Expo, where he presented an overview of tourism in Malaysia.  

The Expo, which runs from June 25 to July 1, 2018 is among the primary highlights of the Kadagayaan Festival 2018 in celebration of the 51st Araw ng Davao del Norte.

Mazlan also expressed optimism that President Rodrigo Duterte pushed for the reinvigoration of the Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-the Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA), which he said is very vital in ensuring regional development.

Aside from tourism, the envoy said member countries should improve their complementation in agriculture, trade and industry, and, products and services, among other areas to advance their shared goal of inclusive and resilient economic growth.

“Let us work together within the ambit of the BIMP-EAGA platform. Let us make sure that our countries flourish and attain holistic development….  (ensuring) that all spectrum of our people will truly benefit from this development,” the envoy stressed.

The 51st founding anniversary of Davao del Norte is firmly supported by the Tagum Agricultural Development Company, Inc. (TADECO), Ulticon Builders, Inc. and MED 9, as the official anniversary partners.

Sponsors of the milestone of the province include the Hijo Resources Corporation, Davao Metro Shuttle, Kapalong Cooperative, Tagum Cooperative, Inc., LYR Group of Companies, Land Bank of the Philippines, PAGCOR, and Panorama Summit Hotel. 

DavNor News