Malacañan Palace
26 February 2015

President Benigno S. Aquino III welcomed French President Franҫois Hollande at the Malacañan Palace, on his two-day State Visit to the Philippines.

Reciprocating President Aquino’s first Official Visit to France in September last year, this is the first state visit of an incumbent French president since the establishment of Philippines-France diplomatic relations in 1947.

After an expanded bilateral meeting and the signing of six agreements which will enhance the partnership between the Philippines and France, the two leaders led the launching of the “Manila Call to Action on Climate Change” wherein the declaration appealed for the participation of the international community in addressing climate change.

“This statement, thus, is a welcome call to action: No longer can we be paralyzed by debates over the obligations of individual countries; all of us must do everything we can, in the quickest and most impactful way possible,” said President Aquino in his brief remarks.

Prior to France’s hosting of the 21st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP21) on December this year, this call to action also asks for the support of all stakeholders in the signing of a climate change agreement.

“For this reason, it is incumbent upon us to conclude a universal climate change agreement in Paris later this year: one that is ambitious; that is guided by science, and that allows developing countries to pursue their economic goals in the context of sustainable development,” he added.

Meanwhile, President Hollande will fly to Eastern Samar tomorrow to personally assess the recovery and disaster risk reduction efforts being done in Guiuan.

Apart from being the country’s second largest trading partner from the European Union, France was the first country to recognize the government of former President Corazon Aquino in 1986, under the administration of Socialist President Franҫois Mitterand.

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