15 October. MOSCOW – Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs Alberto G. Romulo ended Friday a successful three-day working visit to the Russian Federation, in which he reached agreements in principle over the expansion of cooperation in the fields of regional relations, energy and trade as well as inaugurated a new consulate in St. Petersburg.

The visit of Romulo, the highest-level Philippine official to visit Russia in eight years, was capped by a mutual realization of the possibility of an explosion in bilateral trade, especially if the two countries sign a protocol for Russia's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), in time for the 6th Ministerial Conference in Hong Kong in December 2005.

Philippine-Russian trade talks are now at the final stages in Geneva over market access, tariff rates and reciprocal treatment of goods. The last round of talks on 15 September ended in a deadlock over a few key points; following the meeting of the ministers, a breakthrough may be possible when the next round convenes on 21 October in Geneva.

Meetings between Mr. Eduardo V. Mañalac, President and CEO of the Philippine National Oil Company, who accompanied the Secretary, and Russian oil and gas executives are also bearing fruit, as the Philippines will be able to underscore its seriousness in raising Russia's role as an important fuel supplier to the Philippines.
In principle, the Russian Ministry of Industry and Energy has agreed to send a delegation to the bilateral energy experts meeting being hosted by the Philippines in Manila before the end of the year.

Romulo's meetings in Moscow and St. Petersburg emphasized the importance of people-to-people contacts in various spheres, as well as cooperation in joint activities for the commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of Philippine-Russian diplomatic ties next year.
In a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov earlier in the day, Romulo invited his counterpart to come to Manila. He also transmitted the invitation of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to Russian President Vladimir V. Putin to visit the Philippines. The last visit by a top-level Philippine official to Russia was by President Fidel V. Ramos in 1997.

The Philippines' presence in Russia's Northern Capital was boosted with the appointment of Mr Sergey Alexeev, general director of LenExpo, Russia's second biggest exhibition company, and with the reopening of the Consulate in a new location on LenExpo grounds on Vasilievsky Island.
Romulo also reiterated the Philippines' strong support for Russia's request to participate at the East Asian Summit, which will be held in Kuala Lumpur in November 2005.

The Philippines, an ASEAN founding member, is in a position to coordinate regional support next year, when it takes over from Singapore in August 2006 the role of coordinator in the group's dealings with Russia. The term of coordinator lasts for three years. ASEAN maintains dialogue partnerships with a number of countries and each ASEAN member is tasked to coordinate relations with specific partners on a rotating basis. END