PNoy welcomes economic leaders for APEC session

MANILA, Philippines - President Benigno Aquino III on Wednesday officially welcomed the economic leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) for a plenary session with the APEC Business Advisory Council at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City.

The 20 economic leaders arrived one by one since Sunday for the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Manila.

Chilean President Michelle Bachelet and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto are also in the country for a state visit.

Aquino also held bilateral talks with Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang, United States President Barack Obama and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, on ther other hand, did not express any intent to hold bilateral talks with Aquino.

Prime Minister Peter O'Neill of Papua New Guinea, Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-Ying of Hong Kong, President Park Geun-Hye of Korea, Prime Minister Najib Razak of Malaysia, Prime Minister John Key of New Zealand, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada, Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-coa of Thailand, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei Darussalam, President Ollanta Humala of Peru, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong of Singapore and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan are also in the country.

Former Taiwan Vice President Vincent Siew arrived in the country the representative of Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou.

Indonesian President Jusuf Kalla and Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev came to the Philippines in place of Indonesian President Joko Widodo and Russian President Vladimir Putin, who earlier announced that they will not be able to attend the high-level event due to domestic issues.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, who will attend the APEC summit as an observer, also held bilateral talks with Aquino.