6 May 2004 - The Canadian Ambassador to the Philippines, Ambassador Peter Sutherland called on Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert today.  He was the Canadian High Commissioner to India for 3 years before his assignment to the Philippines.

Secretary Albert and Ambassador Sutherland exchanged views on the peace process in Mindanao, the Philippine Government’s negotiation with the New People’s Army, economic development in Mindanao and the advancement of Moslem women.   They also discussed multilateral concerns on the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) and the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM).

“Ambassador Sutherland not only conveyed Canada’s continuing confidence in the Philippines but reiterated his country’s commitment to increasing economic activities between our countries and in supporting our efforts to bring growth and progress to the Southern Philippines,” Secretary Albert said.

On the forthcoming national elections, Ambassador Sutherland informed Secretary Albert that Canada would send thirteen (13) observers to monitor the elections.  Secretary Albert thanked the Canadian envoy and said that the presence of election observers from Canada is a good sign and reflects Canada’s strong interest in our electoral process.

Ambassador Sutherland also invited the Philippine Government to participate in the ASEAN – Canada Trade and Investment Summit in Toronto in April 2005.

Philippines-Canada bilateral ties are active and robust.  Canada has been supporting the Philippine Government’s programs against poverty, terrorism and trans-national crimes through the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). For the past 15 years, the Philippines received more than US$300 million in Canadian government through CIDA. CIDA’s various economic projects focus mainly on Mindanao and other developing regions in the country. END