LOS BAÑOS, Laguna — The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) reinforced its collaboration with Spain as it hosted the second installment of the Meet the Diplomat Series (MDS) on 19 March 2026, featuring two officials from the Embassy of Spain in the Philippines.
The session brought together representatives from the Los Baños Science Community, academic institutions, and partner organizations to explore deeper cooperation in agriculture, education, and innovation.
SEARCA Center Director Dr. Mercedita Sombilla underscored Spain's development priorities—ecological transition, sustainable growth, and community empowerment—and highlighted how both Spain and Southeast Asia serve as "bridge regions" linking major global blocs. She noted the alignment between Spain's Asia-Pacific Strategy 2026–2029 and SEARCA's 12th Five-Year Development Plan (SUSTAIN Southeast Asia), particularly the Center's 4Ps framework: Pocket (farmer income), Plate (food security), Place (climate resilience), and People (next-generation empowerment).
In her presentation, Ms. Silvia Torices de la Varga, Economic and Commercial Counselor, emphasized the strong historical and economic ties between Spain and the Philippines. She noted that the Philippines is currently Spain's second-largest export market in ASEAN, with agriculture accounting for a significant portion of bilateral trade, including pork, beef, pineapples, coconut oil, canned products, and semiconductors.
Torices de la Varga acknowledged existing challenges such as accreditation bottlenecks and customs issues, but pointed to "great promise" for expanded collaboration amid ongoing Philippine economic reforms and negotiations on the Philippines-European Union Free Trade Agreement. She also highlighted opportunities in Spain's areas of agricultural expertise, including smart irrigation systems, water management, greenhouse technologies, agrifood processing, and renewable energy applications.
Meanwhile, Ms. Beatriz Jimeno Ortas, Education Advisor, presented Spain's higher education landscape and scholarship offerings. She emphasized Spain's strong academic fields, such as agricultural biotechnology, water management, biochemistry, and molecular biology, as viable paths for Filipino researchers and students. She also highlighted the growing Philippine participation in the Erasmus+ Program and partnerships with leading Spanish universities, including Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Universidad de Jaén, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, and Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca.
During the open forum, participants raised questions on trade, education pathways, research collaboration, and the feasibility of part-time work and language preparation for students in Spain. The discussion also touched on the Philippines' potential to serve as a hub for Spanish agribusiness within ASEAN.
The event concluded with the awarding of certificates and tokens to the Spanish diplomats, followed by a group photo with participants.
SEARCA's Meet the Diplomat Series will continue to host ambassadors and diplomatic representatives to share perspectives on their countries' priorities, policies, and development strategies. Insights from these dialogues aim to support SEARCA's research, capacity-building, and innovation agenda while promoting inclusive, innovation-driven agricultural transformation across Southeast Asia and beyond.