Aquino flying to Europe, US next month

President Benigno S. Aquino III (Photo by: Robert Viñas/ Malacañang Photo Bureau)

MANILA, Philippines–President Aquino will embark on a long foreign trip next month, visiting four countries in Europe first, then cross the Atlantic for engagements in the United States.

Aquino will travel to Belgium, France, Spain and Germany from Sept. 13 to 20. It will be his first visit as President to these countries.

From Berlin, he will fly to the United States, where he will visit Boston, New York and San Francisco from Sept. 20 to 23.

Visit to EU

His trip to Europe will include meetings with potential investors as well as with the European Maritime Safety Agency for “deeper cooperation,” President Aquino said in a taped interview aired Thursday on Bombo Radyo.

The President will also visit the European Union (EU) headquarters in Brussels.

“The European Union has helped us a lot such as in the [aftermath] of [Super Typhoon] ‘Yolanda,’ and among other things, and also in our peace efforts [in the Bangsamoro],” Aquino said.

He also said he would be meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President François Hollande at the EU headquarters.

2 days per country

President Aquino said there were issues that need to be ironed out with the European Union but did not specify what these were. He said he hoped these would be resolved during his trip.

On trade and commerce, Aquino said several companies had been showing interest in investing in the country “especially at this time.”

“What I can tell is that in this trip, we will spend only two days in each country. We were joking among ourselves that we will get sleep only on the plane. But the exhaustion would be worth it because we are expecting investments to come into [the country], especially in manufacturing,” he said.

Climate change summit

In the United States, Aquino will deliver a speech at the United Nations Global Climate Change Summit upon the invitation of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and US President Barack Obama.

Aquino said that even World Bank president Jim Yong Kim agreed that the Philippines should be at the forefront of discussions on how to deal with global climate change, having experienced several deadly typhoons in recent years.

“The Philippines’ carbon footprint is very small compared to the magnitude of the disasters that occur in our country,” Aquino said.

Carbon footprint is the total emission of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide by an institution, individuals or a country, and its total environmental impact.

At the United Nations, President Aquino said he would propose that countries with bigger carbon footprints would have to contribute more to mitigate the effects of global climate change.

The President’s itinerary in San Francisco, New York and Boston has yet to be released to the media.

He reportedly wants to visit the home in Boston where he lived for three years with his parents and sisters while they were in exile at the height of the Marcos dictatorship.