PRESIDENT Benigno S. Aquino III and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met Tuesday at the Prime Minister’s Residence in Tokyo, Japan to discuss various issues aimed at further developing the bilateral relations between the two countries.
Prime Minister Abe said it is his great pleasure to see President Aquino for the fourth time following their last meeting in December 2013, when the latter participated in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-Japan Summit, also held in Japan.
“This is our fourth summit meeting in the last 12 months and through our frequent communication, I understand that we have great progress in terms of the development of the bilateral relationship, which is quite meaningful,” Prime Minister Abe said in his opening remarks at the summit meeting.
The Japanese head of state noted that both the Philippines and Japan share universal values on top of having a good strategic partnership.
“So with you, Mr. President, I certainly would like to develop our relationship,” he told President Aquino.
President Aquino, for his part, thanked his host and the Japanese government, saying he looks forward as well towards revitalizing the strategic partnership between their two countries.
“It is a pleasure to be back in Tokyo, Japan. Of course, we are witnesses to the revitalization of the Japanese economic impact to the Philippines. I think we are expecting to revitalize your economy (as well as made) evident (by) the number of transport trucks that we were seeing in the road,” President Aquino said in his remarks, referring to the Japanese-made trucks plying the roads in Manila.
During their summit meeting, the two leaders are expected to trade views on recent developments in the region, as well as discuss areas of cooperation that would enhance the strategic partnership between the Philippines and Japan.
They are expected to touch on various areas of cooperation, among them humanitarian assistance and disaster response, maritime cooperation, promotion of trade and investments, people-to-people exchanges and the Mindanao peace process. PND
President Aquino arrived at around 11 a.m. (around 10 a.m. in Manila) Tuesday, June 24) for a one-day working visit to meet with Japanese Prime Minister Abe and address a peace forum relevant to the Bangsamoro people of Mindanao.
Philippine Airlines Flight PR001, which carried President Aquino and his delegation, touched down at 11:04 a.m. (Japan time) at the Tokyo Haneda International Airport, where Philippine Embassy officials led by Charge d’ Affaires Gilberto G.B. Asuque welcomed him.
The President then headed straight to the Old Prime Minister’s Residence for a 20-minute summit meeting with Prime Minister Abe that was followed by a working lunch hosted by the Japanese head of state.
Joining President Aquino in the expanded bilateral talks are Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario, Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima, Budget Secretary Florencio Abad, Secretary Julia Abad of the Presidential Management Staff, Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary for Asia Pacific Affairs Minda Cruz, Assistant Secretary Reynaldo Delantar, Jr., and interpreter Mariko Nagai.
Prime Minister Abe, on the other hand, will have by his side Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Kato Katsunobu, Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Shinsuke Sugiyama, Foreign Affairs Ministry director-general for Southeast and Southwest Asian Affairs Kazuhide Ishikawa, Assistant Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobukatsu Kanehara, Executive Secretaries to the Prime Minister Naoya Imai and Hiroshi Suzuki, Ministry of Foreign Affairs director for Second Southeast Asia Division Naoki Kumagai, and an interpreter.
During their meeting, President Aquino and Prime Minister Abe are expected to exchange views on recent regional developments as well as discuss areas of cooperation that would enhance the strategic partnership between the Philippines and Japan.
These areas of cooperation include humanitarian assistance and disaster response, maritime cooperation, promotion of trade and investments, people-to-people exchanges, and the Mindanao peace process.
The two leaders will issue a joint press statement before the members of the media prior to President Aquino’s departure for a speaking engagement in Hiroshima.
The President will then proceed to the Sheraton Hiroshima Hotel to address the Consolidation for Peace for Mindanao Conference, which was organized by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Research and Education for Peace of the University Sains Malaysia.
To wrap up his trip to Japan, President Aquino will visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, where he will lay a floral wreath and offer a moment of silence and prayers for the victims of World War II. He will then head back to Manila. (with reports from PND)