BINAY SEES IMPROVED EU-PHL BILATERAL RELATIONS

Vice President Jejomar C. Binay said that once signed, the EU-Philippines Partnership and Cooperation Agreement will provide the Philippines and the European Union with the structures for deeper exchanges on priority issues like security, trade, human rights and migration.

The Vice President met with the President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy and President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso during the Nuclear Security Summit held in Seoul, South Korea.

“Both countries took stock of the healthy relationship between the European Union and the Philippines,” Binay said.

“The European Union is already a top investor in the Philippines and a major market for its exports and both sides agreed that there is considerable potential to expand economic exchange even further,” he added.

The European Union commended the Philippines Government for its commitment to the peace process in Mindanao and for the progress it has achieved so far.

The European Union also confirmed its readiness to continue supporting the process both politically and through development assistance aimed at facilitating a resolution to the conflict.

Developments in Southeast Asia region were also discussed including issue of South China Sea (West Philippine Sea). The European Union re-iterated its support for a peaceful resolution of the dispute on the basis of international law in particular the United Nations Convention on the law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Rompuy and Barroso is set to meet president Benigno S. Aquino III on November 2012 in Vientiane during the ASEM 10 Summit.

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