Remarks of 

THE HON. DR. ALBERTO G. ROMULO
Secretary of Foreign Affairs, 

ON THE OCCASION OF 

THE COMMEMORATIVE CEREMONY OF THE
PHILIPPINES-JAPAN FRIENDSHIP YEAR 

Antonio de las Alas Hall, 47^th Floor RCBC Plaza
23 July 2006 

Your Excellency Foreign Minister of Japan and Mrs. Taro Aso;
His Excellency Ambassador and Mrs. Ryuichiro Yamazaki;
Ambassador Alfonso Yuchengco;
Excellencies;
Colleagues from the Department of Foreign Affairs;
Members of the Steering Committee;
Our esteemed friends, ladies and gentlemen: 

I am pleased to be in the presence of good friends and distinguished colleagues and I thank you for joining today for the commemoration ceremony of the Philippines-Japan Friendship Year. 

Allow me to thank especially my esteemed colleague Foreign Minister Taro Aso for being with us and making this occasion even more significant. 

Indeed, today is as much a reunion of friends as it is a celebration of a long-standing and ever-expanding partnership between two nations and peoples. 

This afternoon, Foreign Minister Taro Aso and I signed and exchanged Notes on two Japanese grant projects on Human Resources Development Scholarship. 

This program will allow Filipino students to study in Japan, broaden their knowledge in their chosen fields of expertise and enable them to build friendships and foster camaraderie with their Japanese counterparts. 

Your Excellency, this program augurs well for Philippines-Japan bilateral relations. It is aptly in tune with our celebration of the 50^th Anniversary of the Normalization of Diplomatic Relations between the Philippines and Japan. 

Fifty years of progressive and strong ties between our countries are indeed reasons to rejoice. Our cultures are truly rich and replete with great traditions for celebration from which to draw the pomp and circumstance for our Golden Anniversary. 

Later this evening we will witness a singular rendition of Japanese traditional Noh "Okina, Dance of Sisa" to be performed by a combined cast of University of the Philippines students and Japanese Noh practitioners under the tutelage of Japanese Professor and Noh master Naohiko Umewaka. 

This performance is a fusion of Filipino and Japanese artistry and demonstrates the profound personal ties and interplay of cultures that characterize the human dimensions of our relations. 

Indeed, Philippines-Japan relations have found a strong foundation in people-to-people ties – the indelible bonds that form the building block of our countries' friendship and cooperation. 

Across all fields of cooperation, the centrality of our people is evident in the importance we attach to our joint pursuit of peace, prosperity, well-being, safety and development for our peoples. 

We are grateful for Japan's continued support for the development goals of the Philippines through its official development assistance (ODA). In addition to this, Japan is our major trading partner and the third largest source of tourists. 

The Philippines and Japan draw strength and inspiration from their common democratic values and firm resolve to promote peace and human dignity while pursuing their respective national goals – goals which are themselves becoming more convergent as the two countries work together in building an East Asian community. 

We have vigorously pursued in various forums the advancement of shared aspirations and democratic values for the interests of our people.  The bigger challenge now is how to elevate our friendship to a higher level.  We hope this will be realized with the eventual signing of Philippines-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA). 

In regional and international cooperation, we share and pursue with Japan common interests in the United Nations, APEC, ASEM, and ASEAN.  In 2005, we supported Japan’s aspirations to become a member of the UN Security Council.  

Your Excellency, as we commemorate the historic milestones in our relations, we also celebrate our present warm and vibrant partnership to fortify and build new pillars for a bright future in our bilateral cooperation. 

My hope is that all these events and activities under the Philippines-Japan Friendship Year will engender in us a greater awareness and deeper understanding of our complementary strengths and the values that unite us. 

On this note, may I invite Your Excellencies, distinguished members of the Diplomatic Corps, friends, ladies and gentlemen to join me in a toast: 

• To the continued peace and prosperity of the Philippines and Japan; and
• To the enduring friendship and good health of the Filipino and Japanese peoples.

Mabuhay! 

/gary

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