CANBERRA: Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard has assured President Aquino that her government would stand with the Philippines in ensuring the successful implementation of the framework agreement between his administration and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (Milf).
Gillard also said during the official dinner she hosted for Aquino here Wednesday night that the economic achievements of the Philippines at this time were something to be proud of.
“We applaud your leadership, Mr President, in seeking to bring peace and stability to Mindanao... We share your hope that a peace agreement will end this decades-long conflict and we will work with you and the people of Mindanao to ensure the benefits of peace are felt as real progress for all,” Gillard said.
“Mindanao is where around half of Australia’s development assistance to the Philippines is delivered. The work we are doing together – particularly in education, training teachers, building classrooms, developing curriculum for Islamic and indigenous children, training out-of-school youths to give them an alternative to conflict, supporting social protection programs for the poorest families – is vital to this end,” she said. Gillard cited the long-standing alliance between the Philippines and Australia and that Australians “have admired” the Filipino people’s struggles for freedom in recent decades.
“Australians watched the events of February 1986 in awe and admiration. My predecessor, Australia’s then Prime Minister Bob Hawke, was one of the first foreign leaders to visit Manila following those days. He still speaks with deep respect of your mother, recalling their meeting and your family’s generation of patriotic service,” Gillard told Aquino.
“And, today, the Australian government and Australian people greatly admire your efforts and the efforts of your government and people to bring prosperity and peace to the Philippines. At a time of significant global economic uncertainty, yours is the second fastest growing Asean economy and that’s something to be very proud of,” she said.
Gillard said the reforms in trade, including important industrial sectors like tourism and mining, would ensure that economic growth would be sustained over time and the benefits felt by a majority of the people.
“And these same reforms will create new opportunities to expand the bilateral commercial ties between the Philippines and Australia, opportunities for trade and investment to lift the living standards and create jobs,” she said.
“We share a determination to ensure that the dividend of peace is true human progress. We share a determination to work for economic growth in our region underpinned by security and peace. We cooperate closely in regional forums, including on the East Asia Summit, and we consult on important security issues affecting the region such as the South China Sea,” Gillard said.
For his part, Australian Sen George Brandis took the opportunity to pay tribute to Aquino’s “illustrious mother” Corazon, who restored democracy to the Philippines in 1986 and gave us the term “people power.”
“That concept resonated around the world and fed the hunger for democratic change in countries near and far. Filipinos have much to be proud of in advancing the cause of freedom,” Brandis said.
The senator also cited the economic progress in the Philippines and the preliminary peace deal with the Milf, which “we all hope will finally bring to an end the long running rebellion in the southern Philippines.”
The Philippine star
