Wednesday, October 25, 2006 Arroyo proposes RP as host of 6-party negotiations with Nokor
PRESIDENT Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has offered to make the Philippines a venue for the revival of the Six-Party talks among member-countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) to pave the way for diplomatic dialogues with the government of the Democratic People's Republic of North Korea (DPRK).
Arroyo made the offer during a teleconference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe last October 20 wherein they discussed the nuclear testing issue and the trade relations between Japan and the Philippines.
Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said both Arroyo and Abe purportedly reiterated their support to Resolution 1718 of the UN Security Council (UNSC) condemning Pyongyang's test of a nuclear weapon early this month and vowed to resolve the nuclear issue through peaceful means, one method of which is through the holding of the Six-Party talks possibly in the Philippines.
"As Asean chair, the Philippines is ready to offer its good offices as a venue to explore means to revive the Six Party Talks and engage North Korea in a diplomatic dialogue," Bunye said in a statement.
Arroyo and Abe also talked about trade and investment opportunities between the two countries under the Japan-Philippines Economic and Political Agreement (Jpepa), which was signed by representatives of the two countries in Helsinki, Finland last September 16 as a sidelight to the Asia-European Meeting (Asem) last month.
The agreement states that Japan would open its health care industry to the Philippines and accept Filipino nurses and caretakers to work in Japanese homes and caretaker institutions.
The President also thanked Abe for his government's continued support to the rehabilitation and development of Mindanao and its dispatch of "development specialists" to the International Monitoring team now in the southern region.
Abe is expected to visit the Philippines on December 8 and 9. He would likewise participate in the Asean plus 3 (South Korea, China and Japan) and East Asia summit in Cebu. (JMR/Sunnex)
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