![](https://philcongencalgary.org/public/blogs/2024/02/consul-general-asuque-calls-on-calgary-mayor-naheed-nenshi20240203200929.png)
14 June 2018, Calgary
- The Philippine Consulate General has proposed measures to enhance commercial and cultural exchanges with the City of Calgary during the courtesy call
by
Consul General Gilberto Asuque
on Calgary
Mayor Naheed Nenshi on 13 June 2018.
Consul
General Asuque, who assumed his post on
1 May 2018,
thanked Mayor
Nenshi for issuing
a Proclamation declaring June 2018 as the Philippine Heritage Month in Calgary. He also
thanked the Mayor
for allowing the Filipino-Canadian community to have its 120th Philippine Independence Day flag raising ceremony at the ground of
the municipal building on 12 June 2108. The officers and staff of the
Philippine Consulate General in Calgary,
community leaders and members, local government
officials and some Members of the Legislative Assembly of Canada
attended the event.
Consul General Asuque
highlighted the significant contributions of the big population of Filipinos residing in Calgary - more than 70,000 out of the 175,000 Filipinos
in the
whole province of Alberta - in the economic, social and
cultural development of Calgary.
Mayor Nenshi showed
familiarity with the Filipino population whom he described as quickly becoming
the largest minority group in Calgary.
Consul General Asuque and
Mayor Nenshi exchanged ideas on how to expand the economic and cultural relations
between Calgary and the Philippines. The
Consul General suggested to the Mayor that Calgary may wish to consider establishing links with the ASEAN Smart City Network (ASCN) where
Manila, Cebu
and Davao City are the pilot
smart cities for the
Philippines. The Mayor expressed
interest in the proposal as an opportunity to share best practices with Calgary's
current technology as a smart
city.
The Consul General also suggested
a partnership between a Philippine university and a university in Calgary for a program on
student and faculty exchange as a way to establish cooperation in the field of education.
Mayor Nenshi replied that more exchanges among
Filipino and Calgarian students and universities
should be encouraged as part
of cultural cooperation.
The Mayor expressed keen
interest on film development cooperation, saying that Calgary and
its nearby
areas, with
their varied scenic spots (e.g. mountains, lakes, prairies}, would be ideal for films looking for exotic
locations. He said the big Filipino population in the city could
be tapped to work for any Philippine film project taking place in the city. The Consul General informed
the Mayor that the Philippines-Canada Audio-Visual
Co-Production Agreement that was signed in 1998 could be used to encourage more
cooperation in the film industry. Mayor
Nenshi said that Calgary offers digital
tax credit to film producers
which Philippine film production companies could avail should there be co-production ventures.
The Consul
General and the Mayor also discussed measures to enhance trade and investment such as visits of economic missions including representatives from the oil
and gas industry.