Manila, 26 February – Foreign Affairs Secretary Delia Domingo Albert leaves Saturday for Vietnam for an official visit from 1-2 March 2004 and to participate in the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Retreat to be held in Ha Long City from 3-5 March 2004.

The Secretary’s visit to Vietnam is part of her continuing swing through Southeast Asia, where she is expected to call on her ASEAN counterparts and other ranking officials as required of newly appointed Foreign Ministers.
Secretary Albert has already visited Indonesia, Singapore, Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar.

During the official visit to Vietnam, the Secretary will meet with senior Vietnamese officials, including President Tran Duc Luong, Prime Minister Phan Van Khai and Foreign Affairs Minister Nguyen Dy Nien. The Secretary will also take the opportunity to meet with members of the Filipino community in Hanoi.

“My visit to Vietnam will not only strengthen our ties of friendship but it will also enhance the growing multifaceted partnership and cooperation existing between our two countries,” Secretary Albert said.

As a further manifestation of this heightened sense of partnership, Secretary Albert stated that the Philippines is committed to assist Vietnam in its research on the avian flu virus.

“The Philippines plans to send a team of Filipino epidemiology experts to Vietnam as part of our assistance to a friendly neighbor and a fellow member of ASEAN,” she said

After her official visit to Hanoi, the Secretary will attend the ASEAN Foreign Ministers Retreat to be held in Ha Long City. The Retreat is an annual event where ASEAN Foreign Ministers meet to exchange views on important international and regional issues and the future of ASEAN cooperation.

Expected to be discussed during the Retreat are the follow-up actions to the discussions of ASEAN Foreign Ministers during their Summit in Bali last October, including the individual Plan of Action for the ASEAN Security Community (ASC) and the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC). The Philippines is taking the
lead in the creation of the ASCC as part of an envisioned ASEAN Community. The other pillar is the ASEAN Economic Community.

The Foreign Ministers will also discuss the proposed Vientiane Plan of Action (VPA) that will outline the areas of cooperation and activities that ASEAN member countries will pursue to achieve the ASEAN Vision 2020. The Vientiane Plan of Action (2004-2010) will be the successor plan to the Hanoi Plan of Action (HPA), and will serve as a building block for the establishment of a larger ASEAN community.

“I look forward to a fruitful discussion with my ASEAN counterparts during the Foreign Ministers Retreat at Ha Long Bay in Vietnam. Our participation in this Meeting is part of our commitment to ASEAN as a regional organization and to its continuing effort to successfully integrate its member countries into one strong
and united community,” Secretary Albert said. END  GRP-MILF TALKS ON FIRM FOOTING - ALBERT

26 February 2004 – Foreign Affairs Secretary Delia Domingo Albert today said that the efforts of the Philippines to bring meaningful and lasting peace to the Southern Philippines is clearly on firm footing with the conclusion of informal talks between the GRP and the MILF in Malaysia earlier this week.

“The agreement reached in Kuala Lumpur for the resumption of formal talks in April is a tribute to the sincere commitment of the GRP and MILF to peace, to end violence and to bring to the people of Mindanao renewed hopes for a brighter future,” Secretary Albert said.

“I would like to reiterate our appreciation for the commitment and dedication of Malaysia, a true partner in the search for peace in the Southern Philippines,” the Secretary added.

The Secretary said that she agreed with the President who called the agreement a major milestone. “The President said it best when she said that peace has gained another milestone,” the Secretary said.

“We have removed remaining obstacles and are now ready to discuss and negotiate a final peace agreement,” she added.  The Secretary said that the agreement in Kuala Lumpur will boost efforts to gather more international support for a post-conflict Mindanao.

“This agreement brings us closer to peace and will boost our efforts to mobilize the international community in bringing assistance and cooperation to Mindanao, particularly in post-conflict areas,” the Secretary said.

The Secretary said that she is looking forward to the deployment of the Malaysian monitors. “We will be working on the operational details of the deployment of Malaysian peace monitors,” the Secretary said.

The February 20 Joint Statement of the GRP and MILF peace panels was signed by government peace panel chair Silvestre Afable and MILF peace panel chair Mohagher Iqbal. END.