PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III will travel to Paris, Rome and the Vatican next week, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Thursday.
“To ensure the security and safety of the Philippine delegation and primarily the President, we have been closely in touch with the French Embassy, and we have been informed that it’s all systems go as far as the hosting of the COP21, and all security measures have been taken very carefully and seriously by the French government to ensure the safety of all the participants to the high-level event,” said DFA Assistant Secretary Maria Cleofe Natividad.
Assistant Secretary Joyceline Goco of the Climate Change Commission was also present during the pre-departure briefing on Aquino’s trip which is meant to further expand Philippine bilateral ties and cooperation with the Holy See, France and Italy.
In Paris, Aquino will attend the leaders’ event of the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
“The President is even more determined to go to Paris to attend the COP21 as a show of solidarity and support for the French government. All the other leaders as far as we know, who have been invited and have indicated their participation, none of them has backed out from their attendance,” said Natividad.
“For me, I think, definitely there will be a Paris agreement. The French government will really push that there should be a Paris agreement. I think that’s the reason also why they organized the leaders’ event on the first day,” said Goco.
Goco said they are not sure if there will be other small meetings at the sidelines of the COP21. “What we know is, there will be parallel sessions where heads of state will give their statements for three minutes,” she said.
On the other hand, Natividad said in Aquino’s meeting with Pope Francis, the President will first have a one-on-one meeting with the Pope where he will convey his appreciation for the Pope’s visit and also to discuss bilateral cooperation in the Philippines’ relations with Vatican.
There are also some projects that are being pursued by the Philippine embassy in the Vatican for strengthening the Philippines’ partnership such as in the field of archiving religious documents in the Vatican and other activities in connection with the celebration of the 65th anniversary of the establishment of its relations with the Vatican in April next year.