Philippines Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo makes his way through the media following his arrival at Yangon international airport on August 11. Pic: AFP

PHILIPPINES Foreign Secretary Mr Alberto Romulo arrived in Myanmar on August 10 for a three-day visit to discuss bilateral relations.
“We will take up the whole gamut on bilateral relations… trade, tourism, agriculture, health and person-to-person exchange,” Mr Romulo told The Myanmar Times in an interview shortly after arriving in Yangon, adding that the visit was part of a wider tour of ASEAN member countries.

Later in the day, he met with Myanmar counterpart, Foreign Minister U Nyan Win.

He also planned to visit Nay Pyi Taw the following day to meet with Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council Senior General Than Shwe and other senior members of the SPDC.

“The Philippines has always supported Myanmar’s roadmap to democracy, and I hope to hear from Myanmar’s leaders how we can help Myanmar move forward on this path,” Romulo said in a statement issued by the Philippines foreign department prior to his arrival.

Myanmar and the Philippines are both members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), a grouping that also includes Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

While Romulo described the trip as a bilateral visit, he noted that the Philippines currently holds the rotating chairmanship of ASEAN. Romulo said the rest of ASEAN wanted to see Myanmar “headed for a future bound to those of our Southeast Asian neighbors”.