12 December 2003 - For an overnight visit to Japan, the President was able to mobilize her political and diplomatic forces to help her continuing efforts to bring peace and prosperity to the people of Mindanao, according to Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas F. Ople, who is accompanying the President during her visit to Japan for the ASEAN-Japan Commemorative Summit.

The Secretary said that while in Tokyo, the President pushed for her Mindanao agenda on multiple fronts, saying that “there was much that was achieved during this short visit that will benefit the people of Mindanao.”

“In the context of ASEAN-Japan cooperation, the president pushed for the specific and formal inclusion of the BIMP-EAGA a central feature of the economic, investment and development agenda of ASEAN and Japan.  This will mean more trade and investment as well as development assistance to Mindanao and its greater integration into the economic mainstream of the sub-region encompassing Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia,” Secretary Ople said.

“In terms of Japan’s bilateral commitment to the development of Mindanao and in terms of helping bring peace to Mindanao, the President met with Prime Minister Koizumi and received his commitment for Japan’s greater engagement in Mindanao. Also, during her visit, she oversaw the conclusion of two agreements that will help reduce poverty and help build sustainable peace in conflict-affected areas in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and Mindanao in general,” Secretary Ople said.

The loan agreement for the ARMM Social Fund for Peace and Development will help finance small-scale subprojects of social and economic infrastructure with the participation of local communities and by providing technical assistance for strengthening institutional capacity. The loan agreement on Wholesale Electricity Spot Market will help in reinforcing and upgrading transmission lines and substations in Luzon and Mindanao to improve reliability of power supply and expand rural electrification.

“In terms of our quest for peace in Southern Philippines, the President met with Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi and received his firm commitment for Malaysia to play a central role in our peace negotiations with the MILF,” Secretary Ople said. END.