In her remarks for the visiting Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare, Arroyo said the Pacific Islands Forum, in which PNG is a leading member and the Philippines a dialogue partner, should be part of the solution to the current global economic slowdown.
In order to achieve this, Arroyo said it should be part of a larger pan-regional body in Asia that should include East, South and Central Asia, the Middle East and Oceania.
Arroyo said Asia will be stronger with a more united region.
“An Asian community,” Arroyo said “will strengthen our economy, security and prosperity. We will be able to maximize growth, trade, investment and financial stability in the region, which is best situated to weather the global crisis and come out the strongest, compared with other regions.”
For his part, Prime Minister Somare said Papua New Guinea’s main thrust is to consolidate and diversify PNG’s relations with their close neighbors from the Asian region, including the Philippines as their primary focus and source of trade, investment and development cooperation.
The Philippines and Papua New Guinea signed a memorandum of understanding on fisheries cooperation, pledging to strengthen two-way trade and investment between the two countries.
Under the MOU, both parties commit themselves to securing a productive and sustainable future for their respective fishing industries through joint exploration, development and implementation of priority developmental undertakings.
Arroyo and Somare witnessed the signing of the MOU after the leaders’ bilateral meeting on Boracay Island.
“Both leaders agreed that the signing of the memorandum of understanding on fisheries cooperation will further their bilateral relations,” said a joint statement issued after the expanded bilateral meeting between Arroyo and Somare.
“Both leaders expressed a strong desire to see increased trade and investment between the two countries over the medium to long term,” the statement said.
Somare said that two-way trade between the two countries, centered on fishing, is at $33.2 million per year, ranking the Philippines sixth among Papua New Guinea’s major trading partners.
