Heads of state from South Korea and Australia arrived in Manila on Tuesday (November 18), ahead of the the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders’ Meeting.
South Korean President Park Geun-hye was welcomed by Ambassador to South Korea Raul Hernandez at Manila’s international airport.
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull arrived in Manila a few minutes after Park and was welcomed by Filipino officials.
He is expected to meet U.S. President Barack Obama later on Tuesday.
The Philippines was on high alert as the leaders arrived. Police in this city of 12 million closed off many roads leading to the venues of the meeting, which will be attended by about 20 heads of state or government, including Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) gathering on Wednesday (November 18) and Thursday (November 19) comes on the heels of a G20 summit in Turkey, which was dominated by discussions about the violence emanating from Syria’s 4-1/2-year-old civil war.
Many of the leaders then go on to Kuala Lumpur to attend an East Asia summit at the weekend. (Reuters)