Aquino to meet two Asian leaders in the US

President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III will hold bilateral meetings with two leaders of the country's Asian neighbors during his weeklong working visit in the United States, Malacañang said. In a press briefing on Friday, Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda said Aquino will meet the prime ministers of Malaysia and Singapore in New York separately. Aquino's meeting with Malaysian prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak will include discussions about the resumption of peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), Lacierda said. Malaysia was the third-party facilitator in the peace talks between the government and the MILF during the Arroyo administration. "The president will formally and personally inform Malaysia that it will continue to serve as the third party facilitator among others," Lacierda said. The president will also meet with Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. According to Lacierda, Singapore is the Philippines’ 14th largest trading partner in the world, with trade between the two countries reaching $11.6 billion last year. The Philippines, Malaysia, and Singapore are all members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Aquino previously had a bilateral meeting with Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet, who officially invited Aquino to undertake a state visit to Vietnam before he attends the ASEAN Summit in Hanoi from October 28 to 30. Aquino will attend the 2nd ASEAN-US Leaders’ Meeting at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel on Friday afternoon (1:00 a.m. Saturday in Manila). He will meet US President Barack Obama for the first time during the meeting. “The Philippines is the country coordinator for the ASEAN-US dialogue relations and we will be the third speaker during the discussions," said Lacierda. Aquino will also meet separately with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon. He will address the 65th UN General Assembly at around 6:15 p.m. Friday in New York (6:15 a.m. Saturday in Manila). According to a Palace press release, the president will "call for international cooperation in addressing global issues and discuss the Philippines’ commitment to fulfilling the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and continued support for UN peacekeeping missions." It will be Aquino's first time to deliver a speech before world leaders. His working visit to the US is also his first official trip abroad as chief executive. He is expected to be back at Manila on September 28. –VVP, GMANews.TV