I am proud that the Philippines and Korea continue to develop a close and prosperous partnership in all fields encompassing political relations, trade and investment, development assistance, and cultural ties. For the first quarter of the year, our partnership has already witnessed considerable outcomes. We stood united with the international community in contributing to a safe and secure international environment. The participation of the Philippines in the 2012 Seoul Nuclear Security Summit held on March 26-27, 2012 in Seoul, where Vice President Jejomar Binay attended together with the other leaders of the world, ensured our firm commitment and unwavering support in promoting a world that is free from nuclear terrorism. Our political ties were further cemented when President Benigno S. Aquino III inaugurated the PEFTOK (Philippine Expeditionary Force to Korea) Korean War Memorial Hall together with the Philippine and Korean dignitaries and PEFTOK veterans last March 29. The Hall serves as a constant reminder of the sacrifices of the PEFTOK soldiers who helped defend the freedom and democracy of Korea during the Korean War. Their heroism and contribution became the firm foundation of our partnership, which we have nurtured over the last six decades. Coupled with the achievements in our successful partnership, development cooperation continues to grow and play an important role in our bilateral relations. Just recently, the second Modern Integrated Rice Processing Complex (RPC) was inaugurated in Iloilo that contributed to the reduction of post harvest losses and securing the sustainable supply of food in the country. Furthermore, I am delighted to share that the National Center for Pulmonary Research, the first health research center donated by the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) in the country, is now operational. The new health facility will further enhance the research capacity of the Lung Center of the Philippines. It will also provide immediate medical care to those suffering from dreaded lung diseases and help improve the health condition of many Filipinos. In the aspect of cultural relations, our people-to-people exchanges are expected to increase even more. During the last three months, Koreans are among the top visitors in the country. By year end, it is anticipated that the number of Korean tourists would exceed the number of Koreans who visited last year. In the months to come, I am certain that our two countries will continue to nurture our strong and cooperative partnership to the mutual benefit of our two countries and peoples.
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PEFTOK Korean War Memorial Hall inauguration to further strengthen ties KOTRA holds Development and Business Partnership Forum KOICA inaugurates National Center for Pulmonary Research Third Phase of Korea-Philippine Friendship Project takes effect Korea turns over Iloilo Rice Processing Complex to PHL Korean Cultural Center highlights cultural exchange in Spring Exhibit Korea to focus on marine conservation in 2012 Expo Key Facts of the 2012 Seoul Nuclear Security Summit
PEFTOK Korean War Memorial Hall inauguration to further strengthen ties
President Benigno Aquino III, Ambassador Hye Min LEE and Minister Sung Choon Park of the Korean Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs during the inauguration. Photo by Malacañang.
In a tribute to the courage and heroism of the Filipino soldiers deployed to the Korean War more than six decades ago, the Philippine Expeditionary Forces to Korea (PEFTOK) Korean War Memorial Hall was inaugurated last March 29 at the Libingan ng mga Bayani Annex in Taguig. In his speech, Ambassador Hye Min LEE of the Republic of Korea commended the support of the Filipino people during the ‘darkest time’ of the Korean history. The Philippines deployed more than seven thousand troops to fight together with the Republic of Korea and other United Nations Forces to uphold the democracy of Korea. “We are proud that our two countries achieved outstanding development in our partnership on the bedrock of the solidarity that we have forged during the Korean War.” Ambassador LEE said, “The Philippines continues to be a steadfast supporter of the peace and stability on the Korean peninsula and beyond. Moreover, the summit meeting between President LEE Myung-bak and President Aquino in November last year further strengthened our bonds of friendship.” Ambassador LEE also cited that the Philippines and Korea have made progress in its economic relations, with close to one million Korean tourists visiting the country last year. He added that Korea is the third largest source of foreign investement and the fifth largest trading partner of the Philippines. In his remarkes, President Benigno Aquino III paid tribute to the PEFTOK veterans who sacrificed their lives for the freedom of Korea. He added that the PEFTOK Korean War Memorial Hall will serve as “a shining moment in our history” and will remind the Filipino people of the “special bonds that have tied our fate to that of the Korean people for more than 60 years.” The inauguration was also attended by Former President and Korean War veteran Fidel V. Ramos, Secretary Voltaire Gazmin of the Department of National Defense, Minister Sung Choon Park of the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs of Korea, Administrator Ernesto Carolina of the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office (PVAO), Col. Paterno Viloria of the PEFTOK Veterans Association, Inc. and Director General Joel Villanueva of Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and Lieutenant General Emmanuel Bautista of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
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KOTRA holds Development and Partnership Forum Doing business is more fun in the Philippines as was agreed upon by the major trade and economic players from the country and Korea during the recent Philippine-Korea Development and Business Partnership Forum held last March 22 at the Makati Shangri-La Hotel. The forum, which began in 2009, organized by the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) and the Financial News, with the support of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in the Philippines, was aimed at helping Korean businesses connect with Southeast Asian countries and is the fourth and biggest forum organized by KOTRA. The forum was geared at bringing the bilateral trade talks between Korea and the Philippines to the next level, having
been started last November 2011 during the summit meeting between President Benigno Aquino III and President LEE Myungbak. In his opening address, KOTRA Executive Vice-President Sung-Keun Oh affirmed that the economic cooperation between Korea and the Philippines has greatly improved. As of 2011, the Philippines has been Korea’s eighth largest investment destination globally, and the third largest in Southeast Asia after Indonesia and Vietnam. Representing Korea were Ambassador Hye Min LEE of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea, Executive Vice-President Sung-Keun Oh of KOTRA, Deputy Minister Jin-hyun Han of the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, Director-General Chae-ho
KOICA Inaugurates National Center for Pulmonary Research The Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) together with the Lung Center of the Philippines (LCP) successfully inaugurated and conducted the turnover of the National Center for Pulmonary Research (NCPR) at the LCP Grounds last 21 March 2012. The NCPR is the output of KOICA’s P125M grant for the development of the National Referral Center, which aims to handle clinical drug-susceptibility testing as well as train health personnel of sub-national refer-
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ral centers for the enhancement of basic and health researches on lung diseases. The inauguration and turnover ceremony was highlighted by the recognition of partners, cutting of the ribbon, and unveiling of commemorative marker. In attendance were Korean dignitaries and Filipino officials such as Korean Ambassador to the Philippines Hye Min LEE, KOICA Vice President Jong Seon Lee, WHO Western Pacific Region – Regional Director Young-soo Shin, KOICA Philippine Office
With Ambassador Hye Min LEE of the Republic of Korea are (L-R) Executive Director Yeo Kwon Yoon of the Asian Development Bank, Director-General Johwan Choi of KOTRA Manila, Director-General Chae-ho Cho of the International Cooperation Bureau of the Ministry for Food Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Chairman Jae Ho Jeon of The Financial Times, Dr. Joong Kyung Choi, former secretary of the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, President Elton See Tan of the Philippine-Korea Business Council, Deputy Minister Jin-hyun Han of Ministry of Knowledge Economy, Executive Vice President Seung-keun Oh of KOTRA, and President Eun Gap Chang of the Korea Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines.
Cho of the Ministry for Food Agriculture, former Minister Joongkyung Choi of the Ministry of Knowledge Economy and Chairman Jae ho Jeon of The Financial News, Inc. On the other hand, their Filipino counterparts included Senator Edgardo Angara, Undersecretary Cristino Panlilio of the Board of Investments, Assistant Director
General Ruperto Majuca of the National Economic Development Authority, Undersecretary Bernadette Puyat of the Department of Agriculture and President Marriz Agbon of the Philippine Agricultural Development and Commercial Corporation. Also invited as Dr. Chang-yong Rhee, Chief Economist of the Asia Development Bank.
Resident Representative Jinoh Kim, and Health Secretary Enrique Ona. The ceremony was followed by the First National Scientific Symposium on Pulmonary Diseases in the afternoon. In his message, KOICA VicePresident Jong Seon Lee said that the NCPR was established with the aim of enhancing the capability of LCP to conduct researches on lung diseases. He ensured the commitment of KOICA and the International TB Research Center of Korea to support the strength-
ening of clinical researches in LCP through capacity-building programs. Vice-President Lee also announced the turn over of the Korea Overseas Volunteers’ small-scale project on the improvement of the TB-Direct Observed Treatment Strategy (DOTS) area located behind the NCPR building. Through the recommendation of the volunteers assigned in LCP, KOICA paved the area and constructed an injection room and public toilet for TB patients.
Third Phase of Korea-Philippine Friendship Project takes effect In line with Korea’s continuous commitment for the Philippines to strengthen its vision for a more competitive and sustainable health sectoral development, KOICA held the Groundbreaking Ceremony of the Cavite Collaboration Center (CCC) for Public Health last 22 March 2012. The CCC is the 3rd Phase of the Korea-Philippines Friendship Project located at the Provincial Hospital Compound in Trece Martires, Cavite. Attended mostly by KOICA officials, DOH representatives and Provincial Government officials, the Ceremony enabled the begin-
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ning of the center to house public health services and offices for the Provincial Health department as well as training facilities. The Guest of Honor, KOICA Vice President Jong Seon Lee, said that the CCC project is special for him as he witnessed the inauguration of the KoreaPhilippines Friendship Hospital (KPFH) back in 2002 when he served as Resident Representative of KOICA Philippine Office. He mentioned that KPFH is the first health project of KOICA, and that he has seen the achievements of the hospital.
Korea turns over Iloilo Rice Processing Complex to PHL The Republic of Korea reaffirmed its commitment in helping the Philippines achieve rice selfsufficiency in 2013 during the March 16 inauguration ceremony of the US$3.25 M Rice Processing Complex (RPC) in Pototan, Iloilo. The ceremony was attended by Ambassador Hye Min LEE, Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala, KOICA Philippine Office Resident Representative Kim Jinoh, Governor Arthur Defensor Sr. and Congressman Arthur Defensor Jr. The RPC is a “one-stop service center” equipped with state-of-the-art, post-harvest facilities and technologies that will improve the efficiency of rice production, milling, drying and storage thereby reducing postharvest losses and enhancing rice quality. The complex, with an
area of 1,700 square meters, will have a drying capacity of 5,600 metric tons per year or 1,000 bags per day, a milling capacity of 2.5 MT or an equivalent of 50 cavans per hour, and a storage capacity of 1,100 tons. In his message, Ambassador LEE noted his country’s active engagement in the development of the Philippine agriculture sector. “In recent years, the assistance provided by the Korean Government has ranged from irrigation, rice production, seafood processing, agro-industrial development, and livestock improvement. Korea is committed to strengthening its contribution in support of the Philippine Government’s vision for a more competitive, sustainable, and technology-based agriculture laid down
in its Development Plan for the period of 2011 to 2016,” he said. Ambassador LEE also cited the successful operation of the RPC Pangasinan inaugurated last September 2011 that provided help and relief to the farmers during the onslaught of Typhoons Quiel and Pedring. Two more RPCs are presently being constructed in the provinc-
es of Bohol and Davao del Sur. The RPC project was made possible through a US$13 M grant from the Korean government. It is being implemented by the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), its grant aid wing in partnership with the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the local governments.
Korean Cultural Center highlights arts exchange in spring exhibit The Korean Cultural Center in the Philippines launched the 2012 Philippine-Korea Visual Arts Exchange Exhibit last March 16, featuring varying interpretations of spring from both the Korean and Filipino artists. With the theme Spring: Season of New Meetings, the exhibit featured two Philippine-based Korean artists, four artists from International Contemporary Art Exchange Meeting (ICAEM), Korea, 12 from the Philippines and five artworks from the National Museum of Contemporary Art (NMCA) of Korea. Spring is generally a metaphor for a new chapter in the lives of people, as well as commonly used term to describe new
meetings. This season is a depiction not only of change but of the development and cultivation of new relationships. The exhibit runs until May 31. Joining the exhibit are Fidel Sarmiento, Roger Santos and Menchu Arandilla of the Art Association of the Philippines (AAP), Augusto Santiago, Ruth Santiago, Miguel Buhay, Elaine Herbosa, Jacquelin Lhuillier Hess, Elizabeth Garrovillo, Connie Quirino, Ditas BelmonteDominguez, Seung-joo KANG and Hyesook JANG as well as the indigenous people of Bukidnon, the Talaandig Artists. There are a total of 40 artworks in exhibit, including the paintings of famous Korean Con-
temporary artists from ICAEM namely Nam-gu KANG, Jaehyeon JOO, Sang-sub JUNG and Myung-kyu NA. On the other
hand, the art pieces of Jung-soo KIM, Sung-hun KONG, Kang-so LEE, Soung-soo LEE and Han Yi were sourced from NMCA.
Korea to focus on marine conservation in 2012 Expo The Republic of Korea will be hosting the Yeosu Expo 2012 on May 12 to August 12 with the vision of getting humanity back on a sustainable track through ocean and coasts conservation. The Expo will also be tackling global measures to address the protection of the endangered marine and coastal environment
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of the Earth and its ecosystems, with calls for international cooperation to the participating countries. Yeosu 2012 will entirely be focused on seeking co-existence and common prosperity between the ocean, its coasts and humanity at the light of global warming and environment exploitation.
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Participants 53 heads of state and government, as well as representatives of the United Nations (UN), International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), European Union (EU) and INTERPOL, attended the 2012 Seoul Nuclear Security Summit. Compared to the 2010 Washington Summit, there were seven new participants: Azerbaijan, Denmark, Gabon, Hungary, Lithuania, Romania and INTERPOL. The EU was represented by both the President of the European Council and the President of the European Commission, making the number of participating leaders 58 in total.
There are a number of points particularly worthy of note in the Seoul Communiqué. Firstly, it provides important timelines for advancing nuclear security objectives, such as the target year (end of 2013) for states to announce voluntary actions on minimizing the use of HEU and the goal year (2014) for bringing the amended CPPNM into effect. Secondly, it reflects the need to address both the issues of nuclear security and nuclear safety in a coherent manner for the sustainable peaceful uses of nuclear energy. It also emphasizes the need to better secure spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste. Thirdly, it sets out specific measures to prevent radiological terrorism, an issue which was only briefly touched upon at the Washington Summit.
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Seoul Communiqué The Seoul Communiqué builds on the objectives and measures set out in the 2010 Washington Communiqué to identify 11 areas of priority and importance in nuclear security and presents specific actions in
each area. The 11 areas are as follows: the global nuclear security architecture; the role of the IAEA; nuclear materials; radioactive sources; nuclear security and safety; transportation security;
combating illicit trafficking; nuclear forensics; nuclear security culture; information security; and international cooperation. The Seoul Communiqué sets out the following specific actions in the above 11 areas:
Eliminating and disposing of highly enriched uranium (HEU) no longer in use Minimizing the use of HEU - Encouraging voluntary announcements by the end of 2013 of specific actions to minimize the use of HEU Welcoming international efforts to develop highdensity low-enriched uranium (LEU) fuel for the purpose of replacing HEU fuels in research reactors and medical isotope production facilities Seeking to bring the 2005 amended Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Materials (CPPNM) into effect by 2014 Welcoming an international conference in 2013 organized by the IAEA to coordinate nuclear security activities Encouraging voluntary contributions to the IAEA Nuclear Security Fund Developing options for national policies on HEU management within the framework of the IAEA
Encouraging national measures and international cooperation to prevent radiological terrorism Strengthening the physical protection of nuclear facilities and enhancing emergency response capabilities in the case of radiological accidents while comprehensively addressing nuclear security and nuclear safety concerns Strengthening the management of spent nuclear fuels and radioactive wastes Strengthening the protection of nuclear materials and radioactive sources in transport - Encouraging the establishment of a system to effectively manage and track such materials on a national level Preventing the illicit trafficking of nuclear materials - Strengthening technical capabilities to search for and detect illicitly trafficked nuclear materials and encouraging the sharing of information on persons involved in such activities by cooperating with the INTERPOL
Building nuclear forensics capacity to identify the source of illicitly trafficked nuclear materials Welcoming the establishment of Centers of Excellence for training and education in nuclear security, and supporting networking activities between each Center Strengthening the nuclear security culture - Encouraging the participation of industry, academia, the media, NGOs and other civil actors in the discussions on nuclear security Strengthening the protection of sensitive nuclear security-related information and enhancing cyber security at nuclear facilities Promoting international cooperation, such as the provision of assistance to countries for the enhancement of national nuclear security capabilities upon request The hosting of the next Nuclear Security Summit in the Netherlands
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