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PGMA's Speech during the State Dinner in Honor of their Majesties King Mswati III and Queen Lankhambule of the Kingdom of Swaziland |
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Rizal Hall, Malacaņang |
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May 26, 2008 (webcast) |
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His Majesty King Mswati III
and Queen Lankhambule; Vice President De Castro; members of the Swaziland
delegation; members of the Swazi Royal Family; Secretary and Mrs. Romulo;
His Excellency Edward Joseph Adams, Dean of the Diplomatic Corps; Executive
Secretary Ermita; Senator Angara; members of the Diplomatic Corps; members
of the Cabinet, the Senate and the House of Representatives; other
government officials and members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines;
guests for the private and business sector; ladies and gentlemen. We welcome His Majesty King Mswati III, the members of the Royal Family and our other distinguished guests from the Kingdom of Swaziland. We greet His Majesty a belated 40th Happy Birthday last month and Advance Congratulations on the forthcoming 40th anniversary of Swazi Independence. And we congratulate Swaziland that on the occasion of your 40th anniversary as an independent state you have just completed your constitutional reform. His Majesty's visit signifies the strengthening of our two countries bilateral relations and helps bridge the gap between Asia and Africa. The global clouds in the horizon driving up the cost of fuel and food demonstrate the need for the various nations of the world to diversify their trading partners. We welcome this state visit which demonstrates Swaziland's intent to draw our countries together. We both labor to create a strong and growing economy in our respective countries to help guarantee peace, order and stability. And in our discussions today, His Majesty and I agreed to push our relations forward particularly in the fields of education and trade, and also in tourism which is the reason why we invited a number of members of the tourism industry tonight. King Mswati has brought with him a remarkable business delegation. I hope that their meeting tomorrow with the Philippine Business Community would increase commercial interaction between our two countries. And I was happy to hear from His Majesty that he liked the world-class furniture that he saw during his visit to Cebu. Indeed, this is a good opportunity for us to know the people of Swaziland more and for the leaders of Swaziland to get to know the Philippines more. We are bullish on our two countries. We are optimistic about our future relations. We're deeply committed to developing our friendship. On this note, may I invite you all to raise your glasses and offer a toast to the good health of His Majesty King Mswati III, to the prosperity and happiness of the people of Swaziland, and to the relationship between Swaziland and the Philippines. Mabuhay! |
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