|
Friday, August 04, 2006
Asean legislators to meet in Cebu in September
Close to 300 members of legislative bodies from Southeast Asian countries will gather in Cebu next month for the 27th Asean Inter-Parliamentary Organization (AIPO) general assembly, an event that will serve as the dry run for the Asean summit.
About the same number of delegates is expected to attend Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Business Advisory Council (ABAC) 10th anniversary conference on Aug. 12-13, also in Cebu.
63 CEOs
ABAC, which was founded during the time of then president Fidel Ramos and US president Bill Clinton, is made up of three chief executive officers (CEOs) of each of the 21 member-countries or a total of 63 CEOs who are appointed by their respective heads of state.
In a press statement, ABAC said that on Aug. 11, some 30 chief executives of top international corporations will hold a strategic planning session with President Arroyo.
They will discuss how to make the Philippines more competitive for the global outsourcing demand. Major agreements and initiatives by several multinationals in the Philippines will be made during the meeting.
The ABAC participants will also tackle the state of the global trading system and the progress of globalization and integration in the Asia-Pacific region.
In an earlier interview, ABAC founding chairman Roberto Romulo said agreements made during the ABAC conference will be discussed during Asia-Pacific Economic Conference summit in November, a month before the Asean summit in Cebu.
Meanwhile, legislators from all over Southeast Asia will gather for the six-day meeting to revise the AIPO Charter and craft policies that will help in the campaign against terrorism and pandemic diseases in the region.
They will be joined by observers from South Korea, Japan, China, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Russia and representatives from the European Union.
President Arroyo is expected to deliver the keynote address during the assembly.
It will be the third time for the country to host the AIPO, but it is the first time it will be held in Cebu.
“We will focus on making the AIPO an action force because right now, it’s just a social gathering of the legislators. We will make it a more potent force in the matter of laws common to all member countries,” Rep. Antonio Cuenco (Cebu City, south) told Sun.Star Cebu.
Cuenco, chairman of the House committee on foreign affairs, and other legislators are in Cebu to finalize preparations for the assembly, which will run from Sept. 10 to 15 at the Shangri-La’s Mactan Island Resort and Spa.
He also said that the body hopes to establish cooperation among the member countries in strengthening and implementing laws that are applicable to all.
The body will also come up with the multilateral extradition policies that will allow the immediate arrest of citizens of Southeast Asian countries accused of any wrongdoing.
Rep. Janet Garin (Iloilo, 1st district) said they hope to tackle laws that can help end the trafficking of women and children in Southeast Asia. (LCR/EOB)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (August 4, 2006 issue)
Write letter to the editor.Click here.
Join the Sun.Star message board.Click here. |
|
[return to top]
[home]
[network page]
|
LOCAL NEWS
BUSINESS
OPINION
SPORTS
LIFESTYLE
FEATURE
SUPERBALITA
WEEKEND
|
