Officials of US departments of State, Trade to visit Phl

MANILA, Philippines - Senior officials of the US departments of State and Trade will visit the Philippines next month as the two countries highlighted upcoming opportunities for further high-level engagement.

In a joint statement by the Philippines and the US issued on Jan. 27 in Washington following the second Bilateral Strategic Dialogue, the two sides said the visit of Assistant Secretary of State for Political and Military Affairs Andrew Shapiro and Deputy US Trade Representative Demetrios Marantis will take place before the visit of Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario and Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin to the US in March.

The two sides will discuss economic issues and the interest of the Philippines in potentially joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Del Rosario and Gazmin will engage in high-level consultations at a joint ministerial meeting with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta.

The second Bilateral Strategic Dialogue was held on Jan. 26-27 co-chaired by Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense Peter Lavoy for the US, and Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Erlinda Basilio and Defense Undersecretary Pio Lorenzo Batino for the Philippines.

Justice Undersecretary Francisco Baraan chaired the working group on Rule of Law and Law Enforcement.

In the spirit of the November 2011 Manila Declaration, the dialogue provided an opportunity to consult and exchange views on a broad range of bilateral, regional and global issues, reflecting common values and interests.