GMA to make official visit to Saudi to discuss three O’s

President Arroyo will make an official visit to Saudi Arabia next month to talk about issues concerning the 3-O’s — oil, overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC).

Malacañang officials told The STAR yesterday that the President decided to make a trip to the kingdom because of the serious problems on rising crude oil prices in the world market. Saudi Arabia is a major oil supplier of the Philippines with the Saudi-owned Aramco as a major partner of the state-run Philippine National Oil Co.

The bulk of OFWs are also in Saudi and the Philippines’ bid for observer’s status in the OIC remains pending.

The government is seeking observer status in the OIC to strengthen its hand in the ongoing peace talks with the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front and implementation of its peace agreement with the Moro National Liberation Front, formerly the largest Muslim secessionist rebel group.

The President’s trip to the kingdom comes ahead of her scheduled attendance at the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Sept. 14 where she will be one of the heads of state to speak before the assembly.

Requesting not to be identified, the Palace officials said Mrs. Arroyo will stay in Saudi Arabia for two nights and a day, and has to be in New York on Sept. 14.

At the UN assembly, Mrs. Arroyo will preside over at least one or two sessions — as the Philippines chairs the UN Security Council — on resolutions involving the country’s compliance with the UN Millennium Development Goal on poverty reduction, anti-corruption and anti-terrorism programs be tackled by member-countries.

The President will also deliver a speech before member-countries coinciding with the 60th session of the UN General Assembly.

The President’s trip to Saudi Arabia will enable her to meet for the first time its newly installed King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, successor of his father King Fahd who succumbed to a stroke earlier this month. Mrs. Arroyo had sent Vice President Noli de Castro as her official representative to King Fahd’s burial.

This will also be the first time that Mrs. Arroyo will be out of the country on official visit since the jueteng and wiretapping scandals erupted early this year.

She left for Hong Kong last June, but for a business trip.

After her election to a full six-year term in May 2004, Mrs. Arroyo traveled to China for her first state visit in September last year. The following month, she went to the United States and Mexico for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit and Vietnam for the Asia-Europe meeting.

The President flew to Indonesia in January this year and again in April. She went to the Vatican in April for the burial of Pope John Paul II.