Foreign Affairs Secretary Cayetano Calls for more Mature PH-US
 

Secretary Alan Cayetano with event moderator Ambassador Frank Wisner

06 October 2017 NEW YORK - Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter S. Cayetano called for more mature Philippine-US relations as he emphasized that the Philippines pursues an independent foreign policy in the conduct of its foreign relations in New York on October 02.

At his speech before the members of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), Secretary Cayetano said that when the interests of the Philippines are not parallel with the interests of the US, the Philippines will pursue the options that will benefit Filipinos. He added that this pursuit of a stronger and more independent Philippines will eventually redound to the benefit of the Philippines-US alliance.

Secretary Cayetano also said that the Philippines will continue to be strategic partners with the US in the area of security, and will engage the US in the areas of trade and economics, and socio-economic cooperation including business-to business and people-to-people engagement.

He also underscored the Philippines' commitment to fulfilling its obligations with its bilateral partners and in the multilateral sphere, among them the UN Declaration on Human Rights, the Philippines-US Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), and the Mutual Defense Treaty with the US.

The event was moderated by Ambassador Frank G. Wisner, former US Ambassador to the Philippines, and attended by businessmen, academe, media, foreign policy analysts, and members of US think tanks. Another former US Ambassador to the Philippines, Ambassador Nicholas Platt, was likewise in attendance.

Founded in 1921, the Council on Foreign Relations is one of the oldest and most respected nonpartisan membership think tanks and publishers in the United States. END

For more information, visit www.newyorkpm.dfa.gov.ph/ www.un.int/philippines.