China leaves early but Colombia exits first

Chinese President Xi Jinping and several other leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) forum flew out last night after attending a two-day summit in Manila.

Other Apec leaders who attended the summit—including US President Barack Obama, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo  Abe, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau—were to leave today (Friday).

The first Apec leader to leave was Malaysian Prime Minister  Najib Razak, who flew out at 3 p.m. on an Airbus 319.

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, who received a personal invitation from Obama to visit the White House, left around 5 p.m. on a Boeing 737.

Thirty minutes later, China’s Xi boarded a commercial Air China Boeing 747-400 (744) flight for his trip home.

Xi was seen off by Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, who was to leave later also on a commercial flight.

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his wife, Ho Ching, left at 6 p.m. aboard an unmarked Gulfstream 550 business jet.

Health Secretary Janette Garin and Foreign Undersecretary Rafael Seguis saw them off.

The jet that Lee used was markedly smaller than the carriers taken by other Apec leaders.

Vietnam President Truong Tan Sang and his wife, Mai Thi Hanh, left at 7 p.m. aboard a Vietnam Airlines plane.

Aside from attending the Apec summit, Truong and President Aquino witnessed the signing of a joint statement of strategic partnership.

As he left the country, Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto’s admirers were unabashed in their desire to have a selfie with the good-looking leader.

Nieto and Trudeau had been dubbed “Apec hotties” on social media because of their good looks.

Student volunteers shouted “President! Picture!” to get his attention. But dozens of well-wishers had already swarmed around him, making it difficult for the volunteers to see him.

The first summit participant to leave was Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, who left hours ahead of the formal conclusion of the summit.

Santos, the first Colombian head of state to visit the Philippines, has said that President Aquino’s invitation for him to be a summit observer bodes well for his country’s bid to be part of Apec.