GMA to follow up JPEPA implementation in Japan trip, says Palace

MANILA, Philippines - President Arroyo is expected to discuss the implementation of the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) when she visits Japan this Wednesday.

The JPEPA, ratified in October last year, aims to enhance trade and services between the Philippines and Japan.

Press Secretary Cerge Remonde, in an interview over Radyo ng Bayan, said the official visit of the President to Japan – from Wednesday up to June 20 – is significant as she would be following up on the JPEPA for the first time since it took effect last December.

Remonde noted that the JPEPA has given the Philippines a preferential trade status with Japan and opened the doors to Japan for many Filipino nurses.

Remonde said the President would also have a bilateral meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso on economic issues.

The President, he said, would also be meeting with the imperial family headed by Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko.

Remonde said that the President is also scheduled to meet with Japanese multinational corporations to discuss current and future investments in the Philippines.

Japan is the Philippines’ second largest trading partner, next to the United States.

In 2008, Japan got 13.5 percent of total trade in the Philippines amounting to $14.311 billion.

Meanwhile, the President is also set to visit Brazil from June 22 to 25.

Remonde said that the state visit to Brazil is part of the efforts of the President to build up the international network of the Philippines.

He noted that the President has always advocated the need for countries to become more interdependent, particularly at this time when they are faced with the challenges of the global financial crisis.

“Amidst the dark clouds of the global economic crisis are silver linings that will redound to our benefit. Not the least of these is the increasing acknowledgement that all nations and regions in the world must now take a place at the table,” the President told members of the diplomatic corps during last Friday’s Independence Day reception at Malacañang.

“We need to make the G-20 or even G-30 become the norm. We must not revert to simply viewing the world through the eyes of the G-7,” the President added.

The President has been calling for wider representation of developing countries in the G-20 or even G-30 as well as the completion of the Doha Round of Talks so that every nation may share the benefits of a restructured global economy.

“They say it is too early to bring out the champagne. But on this occasion of our 111th anniversary of nationhood, I ask everyone to join me in a toast of well wishes to the global economy, in a toast to the role of all nations and regions of the world in the global rebound, in a toast to all of us as we meet the challenges to our way of life on the path of peace and prosperity,” the President said.

The President has just concluded trips to South Korea, where she attended the ROK-ASEAN Commemorative Summit, and to Russia for the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.