Aquino to inform Japan’s PM Noda of better business climate in Philippines
MANILA, Philippines—President Aquino is raring to meet with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and Japanese investors to give them a picture of a refreshing business climate in the Philippines during his working visit to Japan.
Aquino, who arrived in Japan Sunday afternoon, is also looking forward to his “personal call’’ on Emperor Akihito, who invited his mother, the late President Corazon C. Aquino, to his enthronement in 1990, as well as his meeting with the Filipino community.
“We’re coming off successful trips to other countries. In August, we went to the People’s Republic of China, and just last week to the United States. These are signs not only of our improving foreign relations, but of other countries’ increasing confidence in the Philippines. Today we’re traveling to Japan to further boost relations between our two countries,’’ he said in a speech before flying to Japan Sunday morning.
Aquino is meeting Noda to strengthen trade relations between the two countries and “map out the direction’’ of their joint efforts to improve their respective societies. He said he would personally extend sympathies to the Prime Minister over the catastrophe caused by a tsunami and a nuclear crisis triggered by an 8.9-magnitude earthquake in northeast Japan in March.
“We will express our oneness with them in their grief and hope that this will not happen again,’’ he told a crowd of government officials, including Vice President Jejomar Binay, Executive Secretary Pacquito Ochoa Jr., Senator Franklin Drilon, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, presidential adviser on the peace process Teresita Deles, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz, Secretary Patricia Licuanan of the Commission on Higher Education, Customs Commissioner Rufino Biazon, Armed Forces Chief Geneneral Eduardo Oban, Coast Guard commandant Admiral Ramon Liwag, and Francis Tolentino of the Metro Manila Development Authority.
Aquino is just as eager to sit down for a flurry of meetings with Japanese investors, who he said should be exhorted once more to invest in the Philippines.
“Once again, we will introduce the rich potential of our more than 7,000 islands, and a new Philippines that is more fair, more refreshing area for investment,” he said. “We will introduce a Philippines that is treading the right path to good governance, more open and fair for business, and ready to join hands with other countries toward a better future.’’
Aquino said his meeting with Akihito would be more “personal’’ since his mother, among other state leaders and foreign dignitaries, witnessed his grand enthronement at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo in November 1990.
“Now that we’re serving as President, we’re thankful to the Emperor for his invitation,’’ he said.
Aquino is also meeting with “hardworking” members of the Filipino community in Japan, including those living in tsunami-devastated Sendai, and share the “good news” with them.
The presidential delegation includes Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario, Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima, Trade Secretary Gregory Domingo, Energy Secretary Jose Rene Almendras, Transportation Secretary Manuel Roxas II and Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. of the Presidential Communications Operations Office.
