The President is set to have bilateral meetings with Prime Minister Stephen Harper of Canada, President Sebastian Piñera of Chile, Prime Minister Michael Somare of Papua New Guinea, and this year’s 22nd APEC Summit host, Japan Prime Minister Naoto Kan.

He is also seeking meetings with the United States, Russia, China, and Indonesia.

Aquino said he will take his five-day trip to Japan, which costs P16.34 million, as an opportunity to visit the Filipino community in Japan, and to hold meetings with other leaders and investors eyeing the Philippines as a potential business hub.

Most important – and I wish to emphasize this – in our participation in APEC is an opportunity to project the Philippines to the international community. We have not had this esteem in almost a decade. But now we are out of darkness, it is daylight in the Philippines, and we have recovered our voice on the world stage. It is this spirit of optimism I wish to share, as your representative in APEC, in my interactions in this forum,” Aquino said in his departure statement before boarding the 2:50 p.m. Philippine Airlines' PR 432 commercial flight at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 2.

The APEC is a forum for 21 Pacific Rim economies that seeks to promote free trade and economic cooperation throughout the Asia-Pacific region. APEC members account for approximately 40 percent of the world’s population, approximately 54 percent of world gross domestic product and about 44 percent of world trade.

“The Philippines is open for business – this is what we wish to convey to our partners in the Asia-Pacific, and to the rest of the world. Our administration has already carried out critical reforms aimed at effecting a long-term impact on our economy. To urge the participation of investors, we have streamlined business registration, improved power supply, carried out more thorough policies to fight corruption, and established closer coordination between the national and local governments to improve the investment climate in the countryside. These efforts continue,” he said.

Accompanying the President in his trip are Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo; Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima; Energy Secretary Jose Rene Almendras; Undersecretary for International Economic Relations, DFA–APEC Senior Official Antonio Rodriguez; Trade and Industry Undersecretary Adrian Cristobal Jr.; Chief Presidential Protocol & Presidential Assistant on Foreign Affairs Adrian Cristobal Jr.; Presidential Management Staff Secretary Julia Abad; and Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office (PCDSPO) Secretary Ricky Carandang, among others.

The Chief Executive said “the Philippines’ ties with Japan are something that my own family holds dearly.”

“When my mother was President, she struck a wonderful friendship with Emperor Hirohito. She was also fortunate to have been invited to witness the ascension of the current emperor, His Imperial Majesty, the Emperor Akihito. These personal ties redounded to closer, more dynamic relations between our people,” Aquino said.

During the APEC Summit, Aquino said that he would reaffirm “the country's commitment to Asia-Pacific economic integration as it complements the Philippines' development and readiness to engage the region with a reinvigorated, more open, reform-oriented plan to entice trade and investment.”

“The Philippines has long been an active member of APEC, ever since its first meeting in November, 1989. We even hosted a meeting in 1996 during President Fidel V. Ramos’s term. Now that we have initiated the many reforms needed to revitalize our economy, the 22nd APEC meeting can serve as our platform, in our revived role as active member of the international community. In four days, our delegation will return home. I am confident that we will bring back with us, as we have from our previous trips abroad, more opportunities for our people, stronger commitments from our allies, and greater recognition among the community of nations," he explained.

“Japan and the rest of APEC have time and again expressed confidence in our capabilities as a developing economy. We are equally confident that the Philippines can fulfill its role as a key partner of its neighbors in this region – especially now that our economy is ready for takeoff," he said.

JC Bello Ruiz, Manila Bulletin