GMA back from South America, US visits

MANILA - After almost a week of visits to South America and the United States, President Arroyo returned to Manila last night, accomplishing her mission to promote the interests of the less developed and developing countries in the midst of the global financial crisis.

Press Secretary Jesus Dureza said Mrs. Arroyo was confident that her strong advocacy for less developed economies would find some resonance among the world’s leaders.

Dureza said Mrs. Arroyo attended the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders’ summit in Lima, Peru where she brought out the concern for the poor and vulnerable, “reminding everybody that we should not forget it’s the poor eventually who will bear the brunt and any solution should take the poor and vulnerable into account.”

Mrs. Arroyo called on her fellow world leaders to urgently convene world trade ministers to bring an early conclusion of the Doha round of talks of the World Trade Organization.

Dureza said the world trade ministers agreed with Mrs. Arroyo’s call for an early meeting of ministers in Geneva, Switzerland.

After the APEC summit in Peru, Mrs. Arroyo flew to Colombia for a meeting with President Alvaro Uribe and former president Andres Pastrana and other business leaders.

Dureza said the meetings would augur well for closer relations between the two countries, considering the similarities in economies, similar challenges and similar solutions that were noted in their discussions.

After Colombia, Mrs. Arroyo flew to Los Angeles in the US where she had a meeting with the Filipino community before flying home.

While in Los Angeles, Mrs. Arroyo had a meeting with executives of Ingram Micro Inc., which was described as a leading player in the technology value chain.