Philippines president cites world-class Filipino workers in Equatorial Guinea

BATA, Equatorial Guinea – President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo cited Tuesday the world-class Filipino workers here for their contribution to the development and progress of this Catholic nation in Africa.

The President made the statement when she addressed the Camara de Representantes del Pueblo, the counterpart of the Philippine House of Representatives, at noon yesterday (7 p.m. Manila time) at the People’s Representative Chamber here. She was the first Philippine President to address the chamber.

Among those present were Guinean House Speaker Salomon Nguema Owono, Philippine House of Representatives Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr., Trade Secretary Peter Favila, Equatorial Guinean ministers, and members of the diplomatic corps.

“We are proud of the contribution of Filipino workers to the development of this country, particularly the 2,500 Filipino professionals employed in the banking, finance and oil sectors of Equatorial Guinea,” the President, who was much applauded, said.

The President said reciprocating the visit of Equatorial Guinea President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo to the Philippines last year would further open and explore new areas of cooperation and opportunities between the two countries.

The President said Equatorial Guinea has expressed interest in acquiring technical know-how in agriculture, fishing, and finance sectors, while the Philippines is keen on the possibility of getting oil concessions from this country.

Although far from each other, the President said the legislative bodies of the Philippines and Equatorial Guinea would work together to close the gap between Asia and Africa as they share a common legacy and culture, being both the only Hispanic nations in Asia and Africa.

The President said the Asia-Africa Summit held in Indonesia in 2005 strengthened bilateral and multilateral ties when the leaders signed a Declaration on the New Asian-African Strategic Partnership.

Before her speech, the President witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on parliamentary cooperation between Speaker De Venecia and his counterpart.

President Arroyo and her lean delegation arrived in the Equatorial Guinean capital of Malabo at 7 a.m. Tuesday (Malabo time, 3 p.m. in Manila) after a 12-hour flight from Singapore, where she earlier made a one-day state visit Monday.

While in Singapore, the President, who is the current chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), also addressed the opening ceremonies of the June 24-25 World Economic Forum on East Asia 2007 held at the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore.

The President and her party return to Manila Wednesday evening.