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PRESIDENT Arroyo leaves Saturday evening for a 10-day
visit to the United States to further strengthen the
historic Philippines-US relations.
The
President, accompanied by her husband Jose Miguel
Arroyo, will take a commercial flight to San Francisco,
California, the first stop of her US visit.
Also
with the presidential party are some Cabinet officials,
lawmakers and top Filipino business leaders.
The
Chief Executive’s US engagements include meetings with
Filipino communities, Filipino World War II veterans and
American business groups.
She will
also hold a series of meetings on a wide range of issues
including the environment, security, human rights and
other global concerns.
From San
Francisco, the President will proceed to Fresno,
California, a four-hour drive from San Francisco, to
hear Mass and interact with the Filipino community there
before proceeding to Washington, D.C.
Meeting
members of Filipino communities in the countries that
she visits is a standard feature of the President’s
trips abroad, in an effort to keep them posted on
developments back home and to encourage them to invest
in the country, as well as to thank them for their
remittances that have helped improve the economy.
The
President’s second stop is Washington, D.C., where she
will meet with President George W. Bush at the Oval
Office.
The
White House meeting, the highlight of her US trip, will
focus on outstanding global issues of common concern to
the two countries, notably terrorism, food security,
nonproliferation of nuclear arms and human rights.
The
President is expected to thank Bush for his support to
Filipino World War II veterans through the US Veterans
Office in Manila and the Veterans Memorial Medical
Center in Quezon City, and express her hope for a
favorable resolution of the remaining issues relating to
Filipino veterans.
The
President will also personally thank the US Senate for
its historic 96-1 vote in favor of the Veterans Benefits
Bill calling for additional benefits to Filipino WWII
veterans.
At the
Pentagon, the President will discuss with US Defense
Secretary Robert Gates the Philippines’ defense reform
program.
The
President will also meet with the Philippines-US
Friendship Caucus, a group of US congressmen who have
openly supported moves to strengthen relations between
the Philippines and the United States.
The
President will meet with officials of Washington-based
Millennium Challenge Corp. (MCC).
Last
March the MCC granted the Philippines compact eligible
status, opening the door for the Philippines to avail
itself of up to $700 million in grants to help boost the
country’s economic growth.
The
Philippines has gained compact-eligible status after
passing objective indicators in the areas of governing
justly, investing in its citizens and encouraging
economic freedom.
Also in
Washington, the President will meet with stakeholders of
the Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI), a multination
effort to push the CTI project spanning across
Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines,
Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste.
The
Triangle holds the richest concentration of iridescent
corals, fish, crustaceans, mollusks and marine plants in
the world.
The
Asean-US Business Council and the United States Chamber
of Commerce will cohost a dinner in honor of Mrs.
Arroyo in Washington. |
