GMA off to Peru for APEC

MANILA, Philippines – President Arroyo left for Lima, Peru yesterday to join other world leaders for the annual leaders’ summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.

In a statement, Malacañang said the President would push for the welfare of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), being the ones hardest hit by the global financial crisis.

Mrs. Arroyo will join leaders of the 21-member APEC for a meeting with the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) on the first day of the summit today.

ABAC members, composed of widely recognized business leaders from the Asia Pacific, would present specific recommendations on how to address the global financial crisis.

Their recommendations include collaboration and activity-based regulations within and across APEC economies to address the global credit contraction, acceleration of APEC regional economic integration, problems on food supply and prices, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, and support for the development of SMEs in the Asia-Pacific region.

After the meeting with ABAC, the President is expected to hold a series of bilateral talks with a number of world leaders, including Peru President Alan Garcia Perez, Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso, United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and the representative of Taiwan to the APEC Summit.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said “in doing so, President Arroyo will contribute substantially to the cross-fertilization of minds that will typify this gathering, leading to a consensus for collective action that will keep the regional trade and investment machinery fully operational.”

Ermita said that the President would also strongly urge positive action on advocacies that the country has been championing in the international arena.

These include the conclusion of the Doha Round of the World Trade Organization to preclude possible protectionism in the wake of the global downturn.

“She will also make a pitch for the $80-billion ASEAN+3 crisis fund which was proposed at the 7th Asia-Europe Meeting in Beijing in October this year, stress the need for the APEC to effect substantial improvements on labor mobility within the region in support of trade in services and offer recommendations to increase agricultural research and development in the name of regional food security.”

Unveiling of Rizal bust

Outside of the APEC Summit, the President will lead the unveiling of the bust of Dr. Jose Rizal at a public park in Lima named after the Philippine national hero.

The Rizal Park in Lima is Peru’s first public park named after the national hero of another country.

Honor guards bearing the Philippine and Peruvian flags will welcome the President at the Rizal Park in La Molina District.

Among those who will welcome the President are La Molina District Mayor Luis Dibos Vargas Prada, former Peru vice president and president/founder of the Organizacion Educativa de Universidad de San Ignacio de Loyola Señor Lic. Raul Diez Canseco Terry, Philippine Ambassador to Chile and Peru Consuelo “Baby” Puyat Reyes, and Philippine Honorary Consul to Peru Arq. Ramiro Salas Bravo, also Peru’s former tourism minister.

Mayor Prada will hand over to President Arroyo the symbolic key to the District of La Molina.

Czech sculptor Hanstroff designed the bronze bust, which will be placed atop a monument-type pedestal where four inaugural markers are mounted.

Inscribed on one of the markers are the words, “Dr. Jose P. Rizal, Heroe Nacional de Filipinas, Nacionalista, Reformador Political, Escritor, Linguistica y Poeta, 1861-1896.”

The establishment of Rizal Park in Peru was made possible through the collaborative efforts of the Philippine Honorary Consulate in Peru and the municipality of La Molina.

Mrs. Arroyo will also be conferred an honorary doctorate degree in science, economics and administration by the Universidad de San Ignacio de Loyola, one of Peru’s most distinguished and prestigious educational institutions.

The conferment ceremonies, which will be held at Calle Los Jilgueros corner Avenida La Fontana, will give the President the distinction of being the first foreign head of state and government to be honored by the university.

Upon her arrival at the Universidad de San Ignacio de Loyola, the President will be welcomed by university officials led by Canseco Terry, president and founder of the Organizacion Educativa de Universidad de San Ignacio de Loyola.

The Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola is named after the Catholic missionary who was noted for his exemplary virtues of love, solidarity in spirit, unwavering faith and values in a world filled with materialism and violence.

In 1995, the Universidad was the first university in Peru granted recognition by the CONAFU (Consejo Nacional para la Autorizacion de Funcionamiento de Universidades) to prepare the career paths of its students and graduates in keeping with the sustainable growth of Peru.

The university’s educational innovations include teaching new concepts of molding young people to become professionals in the fields of science, humanities, and non-formal education, and the inclusion of courses in English to make the students more competitive in both national and international labor markets.

The President is expected to visit Colombia and meet with Colombian President Alvaro Uribe before heading back to Manila on Nov. 28.