Estrada's UNCTAD party to make HK side-trip

A lean presidential delegation will make a side-trip to Hong Kong after attending the United Nations-Association of Southeast Asian Nations (UN-ASEAN) Roundtable that begins today in Bangkok, Thailand.

President Estrada and a party of eight left yesterday on chartered Philippine Airlines flight A-320 for the Thai capital, where they will also be attending today's opening of the 10th session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

Before returning on Valentine's Day, the President will make a side trip to Hong Kong, a stopover which Presidential Spokesman Fernando Barican described as a "brief rest."

Mr. Estrada is scheduled to be back on Monday to lead a fund-raising dinner-dance with First Lady Loi Ejercito at the Manila Hotel for the benefit of Erap Para sa Mahirap Foundation college scholars.

The First Lady was not with the President on the weekend trip. The presidential party includes Foreign Secretary Domingo Siazon Jr., Trade Secretary Mar Roxas, Senior Deputy Executive Secretary Ramon Cardenas, acting Press Secretary Icasiano Gutierrez, and Ambassador to Thailand Clemente Mariano.

Gutierrez said it was really a last-minute decision on the part of the President to attend the UN-ASEAN Roundtable and the UNCTAD meeting.

"Because he (Mr. Estrada) feels he has a lot of work to do here and of course, he was concerned about the possible issues that his critics may raise anew," Gutierrez said.

However, he said Siazon had underscored the fact that all ASEAN heads of state would be at the roundtable where Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi is slated to discuss the Miyazawa Fund allotted by Japan to countries hobbled by the regional crisis.

"So he (President) decided at the 11th hour to go there on condition that he will take a very lean delegation and for a short period of time so it was scheduled on a weekend," Gutierrez said.

The President will formally present a working paper on the proposed Development Cooperation in the 21st century at the roundtable luncheon meeting in the Thai capital. Later today, he will attend the opening ceremonies of UNCTAD X.

Barican said among those expected at the two meetings this weekend are UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, World Trade Organization director general Mike Moore, ASEAN secretary general Rodolfo Severino, and heads of other UN agencies.

"This is an important meeting because Japan is hosting the G-8 meeting this July," Barican pointed out.

At UNCTAD, the President is to raise the Philippine position on issues such as the impact of globalization on development and poverty alleviation, the decline in official development assistance, foreign direct investment, debt management and relief for least developed countries, and trade liberalization through the Uruguay Round.