NAIA Terminal II, Pasay City
14 November 2014
After participating at the 22nd Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in Beijing, China and at the 25th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, President Benigno S. Aquino III arrived past 4:00 in the morning at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal II where he mentioned the positive results of his trips in the two countries.
President Aquino said, the discussions of the participating heads of states focused on timely issues such as climate change, the spread of Ebola virus and terrorism. “Sa bawat minutong inilagi natin sa Beijing at Nay Pyi Taw, ipinakita nating ang Pilipino ay may malasakit maharap ang problema imbes na takasan ito at handing makipagtulungan sa pagtugon sa mga hamon,” he said.
The President added that his meeting with the leaders of Vietnam, Chile, Peru, Papua New Guinea, Thailand, Canada, New Zealand, Japan, Australia, India and China during the APEC meeting has been productive. They, he said, were able to exchange knowledge and ideas on good governance, enhancement of the agriculture and improvement on trade.
He specifically mentioned his meeting with Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter Paire O’Neill. The Prime Minister, he said, is inviting the Philippines to share its knowledge in the areas of fisheries, finance, agriculture, health and education among others. “Ang naramdaman ko po sa kanya, hindi lang sila nagbukas ng pinto para sa atin. Nilagyan pa nila ng red carpet ang ating daraanan. Kitang-kita po natin: ang dating iniiwasan, tinitingala at nilalapitan na ngayon ng ibang bansa,” he added.
Aside from bilateral meetings, President Aquino likewise met with top executives of foreign companies for possible investment in the country such as Sanofi which is currently formulating a vaccine for four kinds of dengue and Johnson and Johnson’s which plans to put up a service center in the Philippines.
In Myanmar, President Aquino said that the ASEAN leaders agreed to complete the formulation of the ASEAN Community Integration before the end of December 2015.
“Habang nakatutok sa pangkasalukuyan at madaliang pangangailangan ng mga Pilipino, masigasig din tayo sa pagpupunla ng mabuting pakikipag-ugnayan, hindi lang sa ating karatig-bansa, kundi pati na sa iba pang panig ng daigdig,” the President said.
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