08 October 2014 - Philippine Consul General in Agana Marciano R. De Borja took advantage of the stopover on Guam of Palau President Tommy Remengesau Jr. to arrange a meeting with him on October 3. Accompanying Consul General De Borja during the call were Consul Mark Francis C. Hamoy, MIASCOR Holdings Inc. CEO Rafael Ll. Reyes, IT&E CEO John Compton, and IT&E General Counsel Steven Carrara. IT&E is the second largest telecommunications company on Guam controlled by Citadel Holdings of the Delgado Group.
The Consul General conveyed to President Remengesau the best wishes of Philippine President Benigno S. Aquino III and of the Filipino people and thanked him for agreeing to meet during his transit through Guam on his way back to Palau. Consul General De Borja emphasized the keen interest of the Philippines, particularly of its business sector, in partnering with the Palau government in any of its projects that are vital to its national development goals. He also congratulated the Palau President on the signing of the treaty establishing the Micronesian Trade and Economic Community with the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands.
In response, President Remengesau said that 2014 has been a very exciting year for small island developing states. He noted the successful conference hosted by Samoa from September 1 to 4 this year and the fact that the United Nations Secretary General had organized a U.N. Climate Summit ahead of the U.N. General Assembly meeting. President Remengesau explained that discussions at the international level on climate issues are of very high importance to small island developing states which face the very real threat of sea level rise brought about by global warming.
During the meeting, Consul General De Borja also introduced President Remengesau to a group of business executives representing Philippine owned or controlled companies that had business interests in Palau.
President Remengesau expressed appreciation for the interest in participating in Palau’s economic development. He said that ensuring a better future for his people requires more effective public-private partnerships as official development assistance is often a protracted process that could not address all the projects that need to be undertaken at once.
The President also discussed some of the pending issues in the bilateral relations and cited some of the areas of technical cooperation that are of interest to Palau, such as renewable energy and aquaculture.
Consul General De Borja took note of the various development projects and areas of technical cooperation that are of interest to Palau and thanked the Palau President for the meeting despite his tight schedule on Guam. Both the Consul General and President Remengesau agreed to continue the discussion when the former visits Palau to lead a consular mission at the end of October 2014. END