KUWAIT: PHILIPPINES PRESIDENT GLORIA MACAPAGAL HAS TALKS WITH KUWAIT ABOUT PROTECTION OF FILIPINO RESIDENTS IF WAR BREAKS OUT WITH IRAQ

Record ID: 858208

  • Title: KUWAIT: PHILIPPINES PRESIDENT GLORIA MACAPAGAL HAS TALKS WITH KUWAIT ABOUT PROTECTION OF FILIPINO RESIDENTS IF WAR BREAKS OUT WITH IRAQ
  • Date: 3rd February 2003
  • Summary: WIDE/ PAN OF HONOUR GUARD MARCHING WITH FLAG VARIOUS OF ARROYO BIDDING FAREWELL, GETTING ON PLANE, WAVING (2 SHOTS) WIDE OF PLANE ABOUT TO DEPART
  • Embargoed: 18th February 2003 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: KUWAIT CITY, KUWAIT
  • City:
  • Country: Kuwait
  • Topics: International Relations,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVAC9QZVMA8EMGYOPKHOLKI0WYUA
  • Aspect Ratio:
  • Story Text: Philippines President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has assured her countrymen and women in Kuwait that her government would do whatever it takes to protect them if war breaks out in neighbouring Iraq.
    Arroyo was in Kuwait on a whirlwind visit to check evacuation plans for some 60,000 Filipino workers living in the oil-rich emirate of 2.2 million people, only a third of whom are Kuwaiti citizens.
    There are about 60,000 Filipinos working in Kuwait, mostly in the service industries. Arroyo's visit aimed to boost morale among the community and reassure them of the Filipino government's commitment to their security in case of any attack on Iraq.
    She met top Kuwaiti officials, including deputy prime minister Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmed Al Sabah, to discuss evacuation plans.
    On Sunday night (February 2), soon after arrival in Kuwait, Arroyo addressed members of the Filipino community and tried to allay their fears.
    "I reassured them (Filipino community in Kuwait) that if conflict should occur - and we pray that it will not occur - our two nations will do everything in their power to ensure the safety and well-being of our citizens", Arroyo told a news conference at the airport before departure on Monday (February 3).
    In Manila, aides said the trip showed the importance Arroyo places on the welfare of overseas Filipino workers, defending her from views that she was risking a lot in a potentially dangerous trip for so little.
    On the eve of her two-day trip, Arroyo said the government was ready to carry out a voluntary evacuation of some of the
    5 million Filipino overseas workers in the Middle East if war breaks out.
    About 7.4 million Filipino overseas workers remit an estimated US$6 billion in earnings to the Philippines annually, a crucial amount for Manila's frail economy. They will also soon become politically important, with the passage of a bill expected to be finalized by Congress this week allowing a large number to vote overseas for the first time in the 2004 presidential election.
    Arroyo says her administration will support military action against Iraq if it is authorized by the United Nations.
    If Washington goes to war against Iraq without U.N.
    authorization, the government will convene a national security meeting to determine what position to take.
    "It is not too late for humanity to prevail and peace to overcome. It is within the power of the Iraqi leadership to put its people and the citizens of the world on notice that they aspire not to conflict and suffering but rather to a legacy of compassion and unity. I hope they heed the call of their people and do what is right," Arroyo told the news conference.
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