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BACOLOD City – This city is being considered as one of the sites of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) 2017 meetings.
Marciano Paynor Jr., director-general for operations of the Asean 2017 National Organizing Committee (NOC), wrote Mayor Evelio Leonardia seeking initial coordination meetings and ocular inspections.
“We are thrilled and honored to host this very significant meet, especially in the light of the Asean integration program which can affect our daily lives,” Leonardia said.
The Philippines is hosting the Asean Summit next year – its 50th founding anniversary. It will convene various lead government agencies represented by high-level delegates such as senior officials from across the Asean region.
Paynor, on the other hand, said that “As one of the founding members of Asean, the Philippines will host the meetings in 2017 as part of its endeavor to intensify community-building through enhanced regional cooperation and integration among member-countries.”
Meanwhile, Foreign Affairs assistant secretary Ma. Hellen Dela Vega, also the director-general for the Asean Philippines – National Secretariat, said the criteria for selecting a host city for the Asean Summit include past experience of hosting Asean gatherings, have available infrastructure to host it, and should have linkage with Asean such as sister-city arrangements.
Leonardia is confident Bacolod City would be able to sell its natural and human resources to the Asean market.
“But we have to work quickly because the single market is not something that is still being planned. It is a reality that is staring at our faces now,” said Leonardia.
The mayor also emphasized that Bacolod City must align its development plans and goals with the opportunities and challenges that come with the Asean Community 2015. (PIA-Negros Occidental/PN)
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