February 20, 2015
Sun Star Bacolod | http://goo.gl/FZ9PsY
AMBASSADOR Jaroslav Olsa Jr. of the Czech Republic expressed the possibility of establishing cooperation programs with the Province of Negros Occidental, particularly in the areas of renewable energy development and environmental protection, a report from the Governor’s Office said.
The Czech envoy, accompanied by Deputy Ambassador Jan Vytopil, Director David Nejedlo of Zoo Liberec, Managing Director Pavel Hospodarsky of the Talarak Foundation, and Professor David Modry of the Veterinary University, is currently in the province and paid a call on Gov. Alfredo Marañon Jr. at the Capitol Wednesday.
“I think there are plenty of possible cooperation, more particularly in energy sector and environment because both Negros Occidental and my country share many things in common,” Olsa said after emerging from his 30-minute meeting with Marañon.
Before his assignment to the Philippines, Olsa served as ambassador of his country to South Korea and Zimbabwe.
He said that their interest in Negros Occidental can be attributed to Talarak Foundation’s program with local non-government organizations to help preserve endemic and other wild bird species in the province, and their association with Ambassador Carmelita Salas, who served as Philippine envoy to the Czech Republic for 12 years.
Salas is the wife of the late Negrense statesman Rafael Salas.
These tie-up initiatives with Negros Occidental are expected to take centerstage when a group of Czech parliamentarians will visit the province sometime next month.
Marañon welcomed the planned visit of the members of parliament of the Czech Republic as he gave the visiting diplomats a brief on Negros Occidental, which he said produces 65 percent of the country’s total sugar production.
The governor also underscored Negros’ biodiversity campaign and told the group that most recently, the southern coastal LGUs, from Bago City to Ilog which spans 110 kilometers, had been declared wetlands of international importance because of the thriving population of migratory birds from Siberia, Australia and China in the area