AQUINO INVITED TO VISIT CHINA, VIETNAM / BINAY OFF TO CHINA, HK OCT 1
MANILA, SEPTEMBER 23, 2010 (MALAYA) BY JOCELYN MONTEMAYOR - PRESIDENT Aquino has been officially invited to visit China and Vietnam, according to Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo who is accompanying the President in his working visit to the United States.
"There are invitations to him everywhere. But like he said, in accordance with tradition, he will visit a (member of the) Association of Southeast Asian Nations first, which is Hanoi, for the regional Asean summit," Romulo said in an interview Tuesday night (Manila time) in New York.
Aquino, accompanied by Romulo and Permanent Representative to the United Nations Libran Cabactulan, initially met with Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet who extended the invitation for Aquino to make the state visit before he attends the Asean Summit in Hanoi from October 28 to 30.
Aquino was originally scheduled to visit Vietnam September 13 and 14 but Vietnam was unable to accommodate him on those dates.
Romulo said aside from Vietnam, representatives of China have also extended their formal invitation for a visit. He, however, failed to give details about the Chinese invitation.
Aquino, accepting Vietnam�s invitation, said: "We value Vietnam as a good friend and strategic partner. We are confident that these ties will only become stronger. I look forward to the continuation of the excellent bilateral relations that our two countries share in diverse areas of interest."
The Vietnamese president expressed confidence the visit would further strengthen the relations between the Philippines and Vietnam which are celebrating the 35th year of diplomatic relations this year.
Romulo said the two leaders also talked about the September 24 meeting of the Asean leaders with US President Barrack Obama. The Philippines is the coordinator of the Asean-US meeting while Vietnam is Asean chair.
The Leaders� Meeting is expected to pave the way for the creation of an Asean-US Eminent Persons Group that will make recommendations for the forging of a strategic partnership between Asean and the United States in the fields of political security, and economic and socio-cultural cooperation.
Also on Friday, Aquino is set to meet with United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and address the United Nations General Assembly.
Romulo said the President would stress that working together is consistent with the UN principle of "collective action."
He said Aquino would also discuss the Philippines� commitment to fulfilling the Millennium Development Goals and reiterate the Philippines� support for UN peacekeeping mission, among others.
Deputy presidential spokeswoman Abigail Valte said among foreign leaders Aquino would meet is World Bank president Robert Zoellick. Aquino and Zoellick are expected to discuss the impacts of climate change, additional infrastructure funding, and additional assistance support from the World Bank, she said.
Aquino would also meet with executives of AES Corp. and discuss with them renewable fuel sources projects. AES Corp. is one of the world�s leading independent power producers, with interests in more than 120 generation facilities in about 30 countries.
Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office head Ramon "Ricky" Carandang said the Philippines hired a PR firm in the US for Aquino�s visit.
"Standard operating procedure iyan. When a foreign government or a government goes to a foreign country, they usually engage the services of different firms in order to help them get exposure to the US media. I would venture to say na hindi lang Pilipinas ang nag-hire ng PR firm for the purpose of this visit. Ang daming bansa ngayon ang nagpunta sa US, ang daming mga leaders na nagpunta sa US and I know that it�s SOP for any foreign government to do that," he said.
Carandang declined to name the firm and how much the government is paying it. He just said it is lower than $1 million.
Binay off to China, Hong Kong when Noynoy returns By Delon Porcalla (The Philippine Star) Updated September 24, 2010 12:00 AM Comments (0) View comments
MANILA, Philippines - The delegation of Vice President Jejomar Binay to China will have to wait for President Aquino�s return before embarking on its trip to personally hand over to Chinese authorities a copy of the report on the Aug. 23 hostage incident.
In an interview with Palace reporters in Malaca�ang where he administered oaths to several appointees, the former Makati City mayor said they are still awaiting instructions from the President, especially since the report is undergoing review. The incident investigation and review committee led by Justice Secretary Leila de Lima prepared the report.
Binay also stressed that an appointment with the Chinese government is necessary before they can make the trip.
�Let�s wait for final instructions from the President. Of course we need to make an appointment to deliver the report. We cannot just go there without an appointment,� he said.
Binay�s delegation would include Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo, who is still with Mr. Aquino in the US. He clarified they would also want the report to be finalized first before the Chinese government gets its official copy.
He noted that they might not be able to get an appointment between Oct. 1 and 8 because there would be a big cultural event in China during the period. Oct. 1 is China�s National day.
The IIRC has submitted its report to Mr. Aquino, who, in turn, referred it to Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. and Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Eduardo de Mesa for further review.
When sought for his opinion on the purported dissatisfaction of China and Hong Kong over the results of the investigation, Binay pointed out that this was expected.
�There is no such thing as 100 percent satisfaction. I have expected both praise and criticism for the report � that�s how life goes. Even in projects, there is always a margin of error. It�s natural,� he said.
�What�s important is that emotions have somehow subsided and that the Philippine government has done its best to repair diplomatic relations,� he said.
�This is a criminal case and not political so the good bilateral relations between the Philippines and China have not been affected much,� he said.
----------------------------------------------------------
� Copyright, 2010 by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE
All rights reserved
----------------------------------------------------------
