Meeting of French Ambassador Michèle Boccoz with Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and visit to BRP Gabriela Silang
French Ambassador Michèle Boccoz met Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana at Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City last March 2, 2021. The meeting, which included a discussion on France’s Indo-Pacific strategy, took place as part of the exchanges between the two countries on defense issues within the framework of the bilateral defense arrangement signed in May 2016.
Ambassador Boccoz also paid a visit to the BRP Gabriela Silang, which was acquired from the French shipbuilder OCEA in 2020. This 84-meter offshore patrol vessel is the largest and most modern ship of the Philippine Coast Guard. Since its delivery, the BRP Gabriela Silang has been used for the transport of displaced workers between Manila and several islands in the archipelago during the strict lockdown implemented due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as for the delivery of relief goods and supplies for communities affected by Typhoon Ulysses in November 2020. It is currently equipped with cold storage rooms for the transport of COVID-19 vaccines.