KUWAIT CITY, Oct 10: “We’re looking forward to a meeting on a bilateral basis with the foreign minister of Kuwait and heads of various investment institutions for the purpose of trying to ascertain if we can attract more investments to the Philippines,” disclosed Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert F. Del Rosario who arrived in Kuwait on early Monday morning to attend the two-day 10th Asian Cooperation Dialogue that opened on Monday. Philippine Ambassador to Kuwait Shulan O. Primavera along with Director of American Affairs at the Kuwait Ministry of Foreign Affairs Turki Al-Dehani, Philippine Vice Consul Rea Oreta and other embassy staff welcomed Del Rosario at the VIP Lounge of the Kuwait International Airport. Del Rosario was accompanied by Assistant Secretary of the Office of Middle East and African Affairs at the DFA Petronila Garcia.

Del Rosario is joining other foreign ministers of Asia in the Asian Cooperation Dialogue to discuss ways on how to boost cooperation among Asian countries amidst the current global economic crisis being faced by European countries and the US. Del Rosario during his visit will also meet with Kuwaiti government officials to discuss bilateral trade relations as well as the welfare of more than 170,000 Overseas Filipino Workers in Kuwait.

Upon his arrival in Kuwait, Del Rosario denied reports that came out on some Arabic dailies that the deployment ban on Filipino household service workers to Kuwait has been officially implemented by Manila. “I haven’t heard of that so I’m not sure if I can give you a confirmation. I believe that it has yet to be implemented. No confirmation that I know of,” he told the Arab Times. When asked about the total lifting of the deployment ban of Filipino workers in Iraq, he pointed out that this is being studied now. “I think you can look forward to that. It’s a matter that’s being studied carefully. I see positive signs that we will begin to consider,” he explained.

Aside from attending the ACD, Del Rosario will also lobby for the support of Philippine Senator Miriam Santiago who has been nominated by the Department of Foreign Affairs as the country’s candidate for judge of the Hague-based International Criminal Court which will hold the election of judges in New York in December. “We also are here for a third purpose which is to promote the candidature of Senator Miriam Santiago for the ICC,” he pointed out.

When asked about the apology made recently by the US Ambassador to the Philippines Harry Thomas sent via SMS on his earlier statement that 40 percent of the male tourists who visit the Philippines are looking for sex tourism, Del Rosario quickly clarified that the SMS was a prelude to a format letter that they have received. “ We have received a letter expressing essentially his regret for contending and stating a specific figure which he felt that he was not able to support, so we believe that the matter is closed. The regret has been expressed in a straightforward way and I hope that from here, we can continue to address the very serious challenge of human trafficking that besets our country,” he stressed.

Aside from meeting government officials, Del Rosario will also meet with Kuwaiti businessmen who have invested in the Philippines and some prospective investors. Ambassador Primavera will be hosting a dinner reception for Del Rosario and some members of the Kuwait business community. “As you all know, a number of Kuwaiti businessmen have already started investing in the Philippines like the Chairman of the KGL Group of Companies Saeed Dashti, to develop a large mixed-use aviation oriented logistics complex on a 167-hectare site in the former US Military Base at Clark Field in Pampanga, Philippines to make it as a logistics hub,” he stated.

He added that KGL has also acquired majority of the shares of Negros Navigation, one of the biggest shipping lines in the Philippines. Moreover, he cited that a Kuwaiti company, Intishar has leased 700 hectares of land in Davao which has been planted with bananas and pineapples. “Most of the bananas and pineapples that you can see in most of the major supermarkets came from the Philippines,” he informed. Aside from these, Kuwait has also at least two energy exploration contracts in the Philippines.
The ambassador stated that other businessmen such as the Chairman of Al Shaya Co, Chairman of Alghanim Corporation Fouad Alghanim and other prominent businessmen will be meeting with Del Rosario to boost economic ties.

He added that the embassy has also arranged a meeting between Del Rosario and the Director General of the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) for the possibility of availing a loan facility for the construction of government hospitals in the Philippines. “If you may recall Kuwait granted the Philippines a $20 million loan in 1997 during the visit of former president Fidel V. Ramos to Kuwait for the road improvement project in Mindanao,” recounted Primavera who was then the ambassador at that time.
Del Rosario and his delegation will be flying back to Manila on Wednesday.