Mottaki meets Philippine president @H= Arroyo invites Ahmadinejad to visit Manila
Tehran Times Political Desk

MANILA – Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki met with Philippine President Maria Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Foreign Minister Alberto Gatmaitan Rómulo on Wednesday.

Mottaki arrived in Manila on Wednesday upon an invitation by his Philippine counterpart to hold talks on mutual interests.

During his meeting with Macapagal-Arroyo, Mottaki stressed the need to increase economic cooperation between nations amidst the economic meltdown, saying Asian counties could complement each other.

He also pointed to the crises in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq, saying Iran has always helped resolve regional problems and acted as sanctuary for displaced people over the past thirty years.

He went on to say the Western military approach in Afghanistan since the 2001 invasion of the country has been ineffective and unsuccessful and a regional approach should replace the current approach to resolve the looming crisis.

Mottaki also said Iran and the Philippines are the two members of an Asian family with numerous historical and cultural commonalities.

He called for exchange visits by high-ranking officials and said the two sides should make efforts to boost their tourism cooperation as well.

The official said that Ahmadinejad had invited Macapagal-Arroyo to visit Iran.

Philippine president, for his part, invited President Ahmadinejad to visit Manila in the future.

Macapagal-Arroyo also said the two counties have great potential to expand their economic and industrial cooperation as well as trade ties particularly in oil and petrochemicals.

He called Mottaki’s visit a new step toward expanding political, economic and cultural ties.

Both sides also said they will support each other in regional and international arena.

In a separate meeting with Gatmaitan Rómulo, Mottaki vowed to make efforts to strengthen bilateral relations, particularly in the economic sphere.

He told Romulo that the Iranian government, under President Ahmadinejad’s administration, “has put relations with Asia as its priority.”

He also paid tribute to the contributions to the Iranian economy and society made by the thousands of Filipinos who worked in Iran in the '70s, saying that they are friends who ""know Iran very well.""

Romulo thanked Mottaki for his government's steadfast support for the Philippine bid to find an observer status in the Organization of Islamic Conference, as well as for the peace process in Mindanao, Xinhua reported.

Romulo also said that the Philippines will work together with Iran and other countries in ensuring the success of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference in May 2010.

The Philippines is the president-elect of the 2010 NPT Review Conference, which will be held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. Ambassador Libran Cabactulan will preside over the conference on behalf of the Philippines.

The Philippines and Iran are signatories to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, a landmark international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, and to further the goal of achieving nuclear disarmament and general and complete disarmament.

Romuloand and Mottaki also agreed to the convening of the 5th Philippine-Iran Joint Commission Meeting in the first quarter of 2010 to look into and adopt practical measures that will boost opportunities for both sides in trade, investments, energy and tourism, Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs reported

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