The French government has assured the safety and security of President Benigno S. Aquino III and members of the Philippine delegation who will be traveling to Paris next week for the 21st Conference of Parties (COP21), an official of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Thursday.
Assistant Secretary Maria Cleofe Natividad of the Office of European Affairs issued the statement amid terror threats and heightened security in France and other European countries following the November 13 attacks in Paris that killed 130 people.
“To ensure the security and safety of the Philippine delegation and primarily the President, we have been closely in touch with the French Embassy, and we have been informed that it is all systems go, as far as the hosting of the COP21, and all security measures have been taken very carefully and seriously by the French government to ensure the safety of all the participants to the high-level event,” she said during a press briefing in Malacañang.
Natividad answered in the negative when asked whether the recent unfortunate events in the French capital have ever made President Aquino think twice about participating in this year’s climate change summit.
“I think, not at all, not for the President. The President did not waver in spite of this horrific event. The President is even more determined to go to Paris to attend the COP21 as a show of solidarity and support for the French government,” she said.
As far as the DFA knows, none of the other world leaders who were invited and have indicated their participation beforehand also backed out from attending the event, she added.
President Aquino will be in Paris for at least a day and a half, November 30 and the morning of December 1, to deliver a keynote speech on COP 21 and engage in business meetings on the side.
He will then undertake a state and reciprocal visits to Rome, Italy and Vatican City in the Holy See in the days that follow, where he will meet with His Holiness Pope Francis. PND (hdc)