Coloma: Obama’s Visit Helps Strengthen US-PHL Ties

Malacañang said the upcoming visit of US President Barack Obama on April 28 to 29 would help strengthen the long-standing ties between the Philippines and the United States.

Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma, Jr. noted that Mr. Obama’s visit will be the eighth by an American president.

Coloma said the visit would provide the two leaders “an opportunity to exchange views and their strategic vision for the 21st century and discuss new avenues to further strengthen the longstanding relations between the two countries by intensifying political and security cooperation, expanding trade and investments, tourism and development cooperation, and deepening people-to-people ties.”

He further said that the meeting will allow the two leaders to “discuss continued cooperation on the rehabilitation of ‘Yolanda’-affected areas.”

Coloma noted that President Obama’s visit is the peak of a series of recent high-level exchanges between the two countries.

Last year, US Secretary of State John F. Kerry and US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel visited the Philippines. Early this year, US Senator and member of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee Marco Rubio, and US Congressman Ed Royce, who also chairs the Foreign Affairs Committee of the US House of Representatives, visited Manila.

Coloma also noted that the US continues to be the major trading partner of the country, with total trade amounting to US$14.5 billion in 2013.

Last year, the US was the second largest export destination of the Philippines after Japan, with exports reaching US$7.8 billion.

He said that people-to-people ties are strong with an estimated 2.27 million Filipinos living in the United States, while thousands of US tourists visit the Philippines every year. In 2013, more than 670,000 American tourists visited the Philippines.

“The visit of President Obama affirms the vigor of our strategic partnership and alliance, and the strength of our people-to-people ties,” Coloma said.