France eyes a direct flight between Manila and Paris, outgoing French Ambassador to the Philippines Michèle Boccoz said during a visit to Malacañang.
Boccoz called on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at the Palace on Tuesday ahead of her return to Paris.
“There are many things going on and one of them, I understand, we will have in the near future a direct flight from Manila to Paris and that’s also in progress,” Boccoz told the President.
Boccoz, who will conclude her diplomatic mission in the Philippines this month, said she appreciated the “loving and hospitable” Filipino people.
She served as the Ambassador of France to the Manila since February 2021.
The President lauded Boccoz for her achievements in improving the ties between the two countries.
“It is something new for our two countries to have these relationships now. I’m sure that there’s something that will grow rapidly within the next two years. Those are the things that I think we can merge. I think we can make a good start,” the President said.
Boccoz said that France is keen in promoting student exchange or scholarship programs to encourage more Filipino students to study in Paris.
She described the Filipino students as “gifted” in different areas of science.
“It is also something that we’re really promoting, to have more students in all areas in science, engineering, and technologies and all of the areas because there’s so many gifted—very, very gifted people,” Boccoz said during her farewell call.
“And the young generation is so dynamic in this country and I’m sure there’ll be many, many opportunities to increase the relationship in all those areas, and to go to the next step of our relation,” she added.
France ranked 18th as the Philippines trading partner from 2021 to 2022 after its total trade went from $1.5 billion to $1.8 billion as it remains the country’s 5th biggest agri-export partner in 2021 and 4th agri-import source.
