Source: Manila Bulletin Online - http://www.mb.com.ph/issues/2006/09/09/OPED2006090973930.html#
09/09/2006
In Finland, President Arroyo will attend the 6th Asia-Europe Summit (ASEM), an inter-regional cooperation meeting that would have countries in Asia and Europe discussing issues ranging from strengthening multilateralism and addressing security threats to sustainable development, globalization and competitiveness, and the future of ASEM. The President will have bilateral discussions with several heads of government and sign with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi a Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA).
From Finland, President Arroyo will proceed to Brussels, Belgium, for a working visit, with scheduled meetings with Belgium’s Prime Minister, His Excellency, Guy Verhofstadt. The President will also meet with European Community President Jose Manuel Barroso and speak before the Royal Institute for International Relations.
In London, United Kingdom, the President will keynote the E-services Philippines Goes to the United Kingdom: ICT Trade and Investment Mission. She will also meet with the Chief Executive Officers of several multinational firms and have a fellowship with the Overseas Filipino Workers, many of whom are professionals working in hospitals and financial institutions.
On September 14, the President will attend the 14th Summit of the NonAligned Movement (NAM) in Havana, Cuba. The 116member movement which was founded in 1961, generally holds a summit every three years. The final leg of President Arroyo’s 11-day foreign trip is Honolulu, Hawaii, where she will take part in the continuing celebration of 100 years of Filipino migration to the island state of the United States of America. In Hawaii, the President will join the large Filipino migrant community in unveiling markers and the Sakada Statue in the Waipahu Filipino Center.
We wish President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and her Delegation bon voyage and a successful trip to Finland, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Cuba, and the United States.