Press Briefing Room, New Executive Building,
Malacañang Palace, Manila
14 October 2013
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen of the press.
On October 17, 2013, President Benigno S. Aquino III will undertake a two-day State Visit to the Republic of Korea upon the invitation of President Park Geun-hye.
President Aquino will be the first leader to undertake a state visit to Korea since President Park took office in February this year. The two leaders will hold their first summit meeting to discuss bilateral issues such as political dialogue, defense cooperation, trade and investments relations, official development assistance, consular and labor cooperation and people-to-people exchanges, among others. Regional issues will also be discussed.
The two leaders will also witness the signing of at least one memorandum of understanding (MOU) – an MOU between the defense ministries of the Philippines and Korea concerning cooperation in the field of defense. This MOU covers a wide range of cooperation from exchange of visits by military personnel and experts to humanitarian assistance and international peacekeeping activities.
On the second day of his visit, the President will meet with the Korean business community including executives of leading Korean conglomerates to discuss investment opportunities in the light of the Philippine economy’s sustained growth and development.
Korea is the 3rd largest economy in Asia and the 13th in the world in 2012. Korea is one of the Philippines’ major investment and trade partners. Last year, bilateral trade amounted to US$ 7.408 billion. Aside from being an important source of investments and official development assistance, Korea remains the country’s top source of tourists reaching more than a million in 2012 or nearly a quarter of total tourist arrivals to the Philippines.
The President will also meet with the Filipino community in Korea. During this event, the President will confer the Order of Lakandula on Representative Jasmine Bacurnay-Lee of the Korean National Assembly. Representative Lee, who hails from Cavite and Davao City, is the first naturalized Korean to be elected to the National Assembly and the award is in recognition of this achievement as well as her advocacies in promoting migrant women’s rights and multiculturalism.
The Philippines and Republic of Korea established relations on 03 March 1949. During the Korean War in 1950, the Philippine Expeditionary Forces to Korea (PEFTOK) joined the UN-led coalition in defending the freedom of the Korean people. Until today, both countries recognize this as the bedrock of Philippine-Korean relations.
The President’s State Visit continues the tradition of high-level reciprocal visits between the Philippines and the Republic of Korea. President Aquino welcomed then President Lee Myung-bak during his State Visit to the Philippines on 19-21 November 2011. END