18 March 2005 --  The Department of Foreign Affairs today announced that  Minister Ali Bin Ibrahim Al-Naimi of the Saudi Arabia Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources and his delegation  will visit the Philippines from 21 to 23 March 2005 for talks with officials on ways to further expand Philippines-Kingdom of Saudi Arabia relations particularly in the fields of energy, trade and investments.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo welcomes the visit of Minister Ali Ibrahim Bin Al-Naimi and his delegation as “as a valuable opportunity for timely discussions especially on cooperation in energy resources.”

The Saudi Minister’s delegation will be composed of  Dr. Ibrahim Al-Mohanna and Dr. Ahmed Al-Ghamdi, both Advisors to the Minister, and Mr. Ali H. Twairqi, Director General of the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources.

On 21 March 2005, Saudi Minister Al-Naimi and his delegation will call on President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in Malacanang and meet at the Department of Energy (DOE) with the Secretary of Energy and other senior government officials from the energy sector as well as with officials of Petron Corporation for talks on strengthening RP-KSA cooperation in the energy sector.

Among those included in the list of government officials that the Minister and his delegation will meet are outgoing DOE Secretary Vince Perez, incoming DOE Secretary Raphael Perpetuo Lotilla, Mr. Nicasio Alcantara, Chairman, Petron Corporation; Mr. Rogelio Murga, President, National Power Corporation; Mr. Eduardo Manalac, President, Philippine National Oil Corporation (PNOC) and  Assistant Secretary Norberto Basilio, Office of Middle East and African Affairs, Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

The visit is significant in terms of energy cooperation. The President is expected to express the Philippines’ desire to expand bilateral relations with the Kingdom, specifically in the petrochemical and oil industries.   For his part, Saudi Minister Al-Naimi is expected to inform the President on the developments in the current international oil market.

Minister Al-Naimi has led the Kingdom’s most important Ministry since 1995 and his word on matters concerning energy and oil is well respected by the Organization on Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).   Moreover, Minister Al-Naimi currently chairs Saudi Aramco, which has a 40% stake in Petron.

Secretary Romulo said that “in connection with the forthcoming 2nd RP-KSA Joint Commission Meeting (JCM), scheduled to be held on 09-10 July 2005 in Riyadh, the Philippine Government will take this opportunity to start exploring potential areas of economic cooperation during Minister al-Naimi’s official visit.”    The Secretary added that “the Philippines stands to benefit from the current invigoration of the Saudi economy, which is attributed mainly to the economic reforms launched by the Kingdom five years ago.”

The Saudi government restructuring succeeded at reducing government restrictions and encouraging opportunities for foreign investment.    In fact, Saudi has won investor’s confidence over the last five years, and the Saudi stock market now ranks 11th internationally in terms of the value of circulated bonds. Subsequent concessions for exploration and development of natural gas were granted to international companies that would eventually lead to the expansion of KSA’s petrochemicals industry. Saudi Arabia welcomes investment not only in natural gas, but also in refining crude oil, and in mining.

Secretary Romulo stressed “the strategic importance of  Philippines  and Saudi Arabia relations, which is influenced by the presence of  approximately 1.1 million OFWs in the Kingdom, the Philippines’ continued import of Saudi oil and petroleum products, and Saudi Arabia’s support for the Philippine bid for observer status in the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC).” END
 

/jay