Source: Manila Bulletin
BANGKOK, Thailand – President Aquino embarks on a two-day official visit Thursday in Thailand to bolster economic and security relations and attract more investments in the country.
The President, who is expected to arrive in the Thai capital before 1 p.m. Thursday, is scheduled to meet with Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to tackle closer bilateral cooperation on trade, investment, education, drug suppression and transnational crime.
Aquino, accompanied by a small party, will also hold separate meetings with several Thai businessmen and the Filipino community during his short visit here. He is also expected to convey his wishes for the speedy recovery of Thailand’s King Bhumibol Adulyadej who is recovering from a lumbar puncture procedure at the hospital.
“The visit aims to further strengthen the Philippines’ deep and strong bilateral relations with Thailand, as well as cooperation within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in order to help build a secure and prosperous ASEAN community by 2015,” the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said in a statement.
The President is also expected to make a strong pitch for the administration’s Public-Private Partnership (PPP) program to Prime Minister Abhisit and the Thai business community. The Aquino government earlier launched the PPP to promote infrastructure development with the cooperation of the private sector to ease the strain on public funds.
Aquino, who has been touring some Asian neighbors since taking office last year, was invited by Abhisit for the two-day visit here.
Philippine Ambassador to Thailand Linglingay Lacanlale said the bilateral relations between the two countries remain robust even as he expressed hope that Aquino’s visit will “strengthen the overall relations.”
Lacanlale also said they look forward to the President’s meetings with officials from huge Thai companies, saying this could be “an indication of an expanded commitment to invest in the Philippines.”
“Also, there will be more exchanges between our countries at the expert level or even the level of business missions, even parliamentarians. Of course, the President represents the executive, but there is a lot of interests among the parliamentarians of Thailand to look at our experiences, to share experiences with our own members of Congress,” the envoy said.
Apart from stronger cooperation in the fields of agriculture, energy and investments, Lacanlale said the two leaders will also discuss measures to strengthen the campaign against drug trafficking, admitting that there is also a problem of drug mules in Thailand.
“An area of cooperation is fighting drug trafficking, closer cooperation in terms of apprehension, sharing of experiences, maybe closer communication in terms of alerting the embassy and the authorities in the Philippines,” Lacanlale said.
Prior to his meeting with his Thai counterpart, the President will hold separate meetings Thursday with top executives of Charoen Pokphand Group, Siam Cement Group and PTT Public Company Limited which have current investments in the country.
At 5:30 p.m. (630 p.m. Manila time), the President will motor to the Government House where he will be given arrival honors. Aquino will then hold a bilateral meeting with Abhisit at the Inner Ivory Room inside the Government House, followed by a joint press conference.
Apart from bilateral concerns, they are also expected to tackle cooperation within the ASEAN framework on international issues including human rights, human trafficking.
Abhisit will also host a dinner on Thursday night to honor Aquino and his delegation at the Santri Maitree building in the Government House compound.
On Friday, the President will be given an honorary doctorate degree in economics at the Kasertsart University. He will then visit the Siriraj Hospital and sign a well-wishing book for the Thai King’s good health and speedy recovery.
Aquino is also expected to share his government’s achievements in the past year during a meeting with the Filipino community in Shangri-La Hotel before departing for Manila at 1:50 p.m.
