LEAN BUT POLISHED DELEGATION FOR NOY'S VIETNAM VISIT
[PHOTO AT LEFT - FROM RIGHT TO LEFT: NEW YORK CITY – President Benigno S. Aquino III, US President Barack Obama and Vietnam President Nguyen Minh Triet in a press conference at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel on Saturday (Manila time) Sept. 25, 2010.]
MANILA, OCTOBER 24, 2010 (STAR ) By Aurea Calica – President Aquino's delegation for his state visit to Vietnam and attendance at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit would be lean, Malacañang said yesterday.
The delegation would include Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo, Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima, Trade and Industry Secretary Greogory Domingo, Presidential Management Staff chief Julia Abad, Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office Secretary Ricky Carandang, Commission on Higher Education (CHED) chair Patricia Licuanan and Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Policy Erlinda Basilio.
Four agreements on academic cooperation with the CHED, defense cooperation, oil spill preparedness and response, and search and rescue at sea are expected to be signed.
Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said the President and his officials made an assessment of the Chief Executive's trip to the United States and made necessary adjustments.
Lacierda said they were aware of the need to add some people in the delegation and leave some who were included in the US trip last September.
During his New York and California visits, the President decided not to bring any spokesman and let Cabinet secretaries conduct the briefings as he also made himself available for interviews.
But while many of his officials, including those from his security team, did some multi-tasking, there were also a few who did not perform their duties.
Lacierda said they would disclose the members of the delegation and the cost of the trip this week.
Aside from Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet, Mr. Aquino will also meet with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee Nong Duc Manh.
The President is also expected to address Vietnamese and ASEAN business leaders in an investment conference in Hanoi on Oct. 27, where he will have the opportunity to expound on the government's economic and fiscal policies as well as invite investors to put their money in the Philippines.
[PHOTO AT LEFT - Filipino Business Group in Vietnam]
The Chief Executive will also meet and interact with representatives of the Filipino community in Hanoi. Some 3,500 Filipinos, mostly professionals, reside in Vietnam.
After the state visit, the President will attend the 17th ASEAN Summit and Related Meetings scheduled on Oct. 28 to 30 where he is expected to push for the Philippines' interests in five key areas – economic cooperation, political and security cooperation, food and energy security, human rights and disaster management.
He will also meet with various leaders from ASEAN and various partners at the sidelines of the Summit, including bilateral meetings with Indonesian President Susilo BambangYudhoyono, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, New Zealand Prime Minister John Key and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, among others.
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