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Philippine President to visit Republic of Korea

Philippine President Benigno S. Aquino III will make a State visit to the Republic of Korea (RoK) beginning October 17 at the invitation of President Park Geun-hye, according to the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs.
Philippine President Benigno S. Aquino III will make a State visit tothe Republic of Korea (RoK) beginning October 17 at the invitation ofPresident Park Geun-hye, according to the Philippine Department ofForeign Affairs.

During the two-day visit, the two leaders willhold talks to discuss bilateral issues such as political dialogue,defense cooperation, trade and investments relations, officialdevelopment assistance, consular and labour cooperation andpeople-to-people exchanges, among others. Regional issues will also bediscussed.

The two leaders will witness the signing of amemorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation between the defenseministries of the Philippines and the RoK. This MoU covers a wide rangeof cooperation from exchange of visits by military personnel and expertsto humanitarian assistance and international peacekeeping activities.

Asscheduled, President Aquino will meet with the Korean businesscommunity, including executives of leading Korean conglomerates todiscuss investment opportunities in the light of the Philippineeconomy’s sustained growth and development.

The Philippinesand the Republic of Korea established diplomatic relations on March 3,1949. The RoK is one of the Philippines’ major investment and tradepartners. Last year, bilateral trade amounted to more than 7.4 billionUSD.

The RoK is also the Philippines' top source oftourists reaching more than a million in 2012 or nearly a quarter oftotal tourist arrivals to the Philippines.-VNA
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