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| 17 NOVEMBER 2007 | ||
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| 17 NOVEMBER 2007 | ||
| PGMA leaves for Singapore Sunday to attend 13th ASEAN Summit meeting |
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President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo leaves for
Singapore Sunday afternoon (Nov. 18) to attend the annual meeting of the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) heads of state and
government, the highest decision-making organ of the 10-member ASEAN. High on agenda of the 13th ASEAN Summit and related meetings in Singapore on Nov. 18 to 22 is the signing by ASEAN leaders of the ASEAN Charter which the High Level Task Force drafted during the 12th ASEAN Summit held in Cebu early this year. This historic document, which former President Fidel V. Ramos as member of the Eminent Persons Group helped formulate, is expected to serve as a legal and institutional framework as well as an inspiration for ASEAN to meet future challenges and opportunities, During the Summit, President Arroyo is expected to bring up issues on environment, including the protection of coastal and marine ecosystems as well as renew her calls for the use of renewable and alternative sources of energy, such as biofuels, to soften the effect of high prices of oil in the world market. Other highlights of the five-day ASEAN Summit are: Signing of another important document on ASEAN Economic Community Blueprint, a master plan that identifies the priority measures and actions to be undertaken to transform ASEAN into a region with free movement of goods, services, investment, skilled labor and freer flow of capital by 2015. Discussions on problems on energy, the environment, climate change and sustainable development, and the signing by ASEAN leaders of a declaration of environmental sustainability to protect and manage the environment, respond to climate change and conserve the region’s natural resources. ASEAN leaders also will declare their support for a successful outcome of the negotiation at the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations (UN) Framework Convention on Climate Change in Bali next month, which seeks to pave the way for a climate change roadmap beyond 2012, when the Kyoto Protocol expires. Other documents that will be signed at the 13th ASEAN Summit by ASEAN Ministers are: the ASEAN Mutual Recognition Agreement on Architectural Services; the ASEAN Framework Arrangement on the Mutual Recognition of Surveying Qualifications; and the Protocol to carry out the 6th Package of Commitments under the ASEAN Framework Agreement on Services. Among the members of the President’s delegation are former President Ramos, Philippine representative to the ASEAN Eminent Persons Group; House Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr., Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo, Trade and Industry Secretary Peter Favila, Press Secretary and concurrent Presidential Spokesperson Ignacio R. Bunye, House Deputy Speaker Ma. Amelita C. Villarosa, Rep. Arthur Defensor, and Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Policy Enrique Manalo. The ASEAN was established on Aug. 8, 1967 in Bangkok by the five original member countries: Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. Brunei Darussalam joined the group on Jan. 8, 1984; Vietnam on July 28, 1995; Lao PDR and Myanmar on July 23, 1997; and Cambodia on April 30, 1999. The ASEAN was organized to accelerate economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the region, promote regional peace and stability through abiding respect for justice and the rule of law, fortify the relationship among countries in the region and adhere to the principles of the United Nations Charter. The ASEAN region has a population of about 500 million, a total area of 4.5 million square kilometers, a combined gross domestic product (GDP) of almost US$700 billion, and a total trade of about US$850 billion. |
