Your Excellency, Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar,
Distinguished members of the Malaysian Delegation,
Colleagues in the Philippine Delegation,
Ladies and Gentlemen.

Friendship always bears fruit.  So it is today as we conclude our 6th Joint Commission Meeting.

I wish to express my sincere appreciation to His Excellency, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Your Excellency, Foreign Minister Albar, and the members of the Malaysian delegation for your full support and cooperation in making our meeting most productive.

The atmosphere of friendship and fraternal ties during the Meeting allowed for open and meaningful discussion.  This accounted for the dynamic interaction and resulted in meaningful and comprehensive dialogue.

We reviewed our on-going relations and set the directions that both our countries will jointly take, in pursuit of our shared goals and aspirations.

Our discussions focused on concrete follow-up activities to further strengthen cooperation and collaboration in priority areas.

From investment to education, from trade to tourism, we engaged in a comprehensive exchange of ideas on points where both countries stand to prosper, and from which every Filipino and Malaysian stands to profit.

Like true kin, we also sought to secure and protect each other’s homes, families and communities.  We thus worked to further advance the pursuit of peace for Mindanao; to step up our joint fight against all forms of transnational crimes and piracy; and, to protect and promote the welfare and well-being of Filipinos working in Malaysia.

Excellency,

We appreciate the spirit of cooperation, compassion and concern with which the Malaysian Government has approached these issues, and we look forward to the forging of relevant agreements at the soonest possible time.

The challenge for us now lies in ensuring that our decisions and initiatives will be implemented effectively and efficiently.

Excellency,

I encourage all to build on our friendship and to sustain the momentum of this Meeting.   I wish to reiterate our fervent desire to complete and conclude our pending agreements and MOUs. And I urge everyone to explore new areas of cooperation to further broaden our brotherhood.

I wish to thank you once more for a most fruitful meeting.  The solidarity and support you have shown will reinvigorate our relations in all fields and at every level.

Excellency, Malaysia’s gracious and generous hospitality made us truly feel like family.

The Philippines will most certainly reciprocate when we host the 7th Philippines-Malaysia Joint Commission Meeting.

Brothers deserve nothing less.

Thank you. END