New Philippines Embassy in Oslo

The Department of Foreign Affairs reported the opening of the Philippines embassy in Oslo on May 02, 2007 which is the Philippines‘s 86th Foreign Service post.
        The Embassy is located at Suite 1011 of the Radisson SAS Scandinavia Hotel (Holbergsgate 30, N-0166 Oslo, Norway) with Second Secretary and Consul Porfirio M. Mayo and finance officer Anna Marie Caraig assuming their posts. The Ambassador Victoria S. Bataclan will be filling in her post by the end of May. She was the country’s ambassador to Sweden.
        Opening the Philippine Embassy in Norway became a main concern for various reasons: Philippines-Norway diplomatic relations span nearly 60 years of meaningful interaction, and Norway is a recognized leader in the area of conflict resolution and has played a substantive role as third-country facilitator in the GRP-NDF peace talks since 2001.
        On the economic outlook, prospects are good for Philippine agricultural products as well as information technology goods and services. The potential for Norwegian investments in the Philippines, particularly in oil and natural gas exploration and equities also looks promising.
        Further cooperation in the maritime sector, particularly marine resources management, marine environmental protection and maritime safety can also be expected.
        There are 14,600 Filipinos working and living in Norway, in addition to some 18,000 Filipino seafarers on board Norwegian vessels.
        Around 7,000 Norwegian tourists visit the Philippines annually and the number is expected to increase. 
Full consular services, including passport and visa issuance, will be made available in due course. Meanwhile, the Embassy can be reached through the Radisson switchboard number 0047-23293000