MANILA, Philippines — President Benigno Aquino III on Wednesday morning (Manila time) arrived in Rome, Italy for a state visit following a two-day working visit in Paris, France.
The president is set to hold bilateral meetings with Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Matteo Renzi.
Aquino's discussions with the Italian leaders will dwell on strengthening bilateral ties between the Philippines and Italy in honor of the two countries' 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic partnership on 2017.
On Thursday, the president will meet with members of the Filipino community at the Ergife Hotel.
About 171,124 Filipino migrants reside in Italy, most of them can be found in Milan, Florence, Bologna, Turin and Rome.
Aquino will take a side trip to the Vatican City on Friday to have a private audience with Pope Francis at the Apostolic Palace.
The president's meeting with the Roman Pontiff is considered a reciprocal visit following the latter's visit to the Philippines in January. Aquino and the Pope are expected to discuss issues of mutual interest such as climate change.
Aquino will also have a meet-and-greet with Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin and then witness the unveiling and blessing of the mosaic image of Our Lady of Peñafrancia.
The trip to the Vatican will be the end of the president's six-day official working visit to Europe.
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Earlier this week, Aquino attended the 21st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention in Paris, France.
He was one of the nearly 150 leaders who attended the meeting to reach an agreement on climate change.
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