ISLAMABAD, June 3: Pakistan and Philippines are currently negotiating three concrete draft agreements on counter-terrorism, cultural exchange and lifting of visa requirements for diplomatic passport holders.
Also, the Philippines is counting on Pakistan's support for joining the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) as an observer.
This was disclosed by the visiting Philippines Foreign Affairs Secretary and Cabinet Minister Ms. Delia Domingo Albert in an exclusive interview with Dawn here on Wednesday. "All the three draft agreements are being studied by the two sides and will be formalised at a later stage at the technical- level," Ms Albert stated.
The new counter-terrorism agreement she said would include intelligence sharing and strengthen accessibility of information. On the cultural exchange agreement that is in the works, Ms Albert said both sides had specifically identified exchange of writers and authors to encourage people-to-people contact.
Ms Albert spoke about the prospects of Pakistan-Philippines relations, Philippines desire to be in the OIC, Pakistan's membership of the ASEAN Regional Forum, the Muslims in the Philippines and the regional situation.
BILATERAL: Ms Delia Albert said one of the reasons she had come to Pakistan was "to reinvigorate" the bilateral ties that had been very active in the fifties and the sixties.
"I hope that we will increase the bilateral visits as such visits put some focus on the relationship," the Foreign Affairs Secretary said. Defence is another important area in which the two countries have agreed to cooperate, Ms Albert said.
This would include mainly training, she said, adding that Philippines was particularly keen to draw on Pakistan's vast experience in UN peacekeeping operations. Other areas of possible cooperation identified are textiles, food-processing, mining and women entrepreneurs in small and medium industries
OIC: The Philippines foreign secretary said during her meeting with top Pakistani leadership she had reiterated her government's desire to be an observer in the 57-nation OIC and sought Pakistan's support as a key member of this pan-Islamic body.
Terming the response of Pakistan government as "very positive" she said: "What is really being discussed at this stage is how the Philippines could be brought into the process."
She categorically stated: "I have come here to convey to your leaders what it (OIC observer status) means to us and what it means to the situation in Philippines."
The argument advanced by Ms Albert in support of Philippines bid for the OIC observer status was that of the total 82 million population of the Philippines, seven million are Muslims and that the secessionist group in the Philippines, the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), has a presence in the OIC.
"We believe being an observer in the OIC will give Philippines the opportunity to share with the body what it has done to integrate the Muslim population of this country and to address the concerns identified by the MNLF. But what is important is that we believe that it should not just be the secessionist group movement that should be represented but the country as a whole," she emphasized.
Ms Albert said from Pakistan she would be proceeding to Morocco and from there to Libya to strengthen Philippines position for an observer seat. Libya, she said, has been very supportive on this count. Later this month she will be heading to Turkey to attend the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers (ICFM) in Istanbul where she has been invited as a guest.
MUSLIMS IN PHILIPPINES: Ms Albert disagreed with the notion that Muslims in Philippines had a rough deal and that the government was targeting them to gratify the United States.
She pointed out that since the peace agreement between the Philippines government and the secessionist group in 1996, the government had taken various initiatives to bring them into the mainstream.
"There is no reason for Muslims in Philippines to feel unsafe," Ms Albert asserted as she drew attention to the all-inclusive national policies consciously developed by the government to bring them into the national life.
"For example in our foreign service we have brought in quite a number of Muslim diplomats," she pointed out. One significant move in this regard has been the recent presidential proclamation declaring Eid-ul Fitr a national holiday in Philippines.
The extra incentives given by the government included shifting a lot of development assistance to the areas where they live, which are mostly in the southern part of Philippines. However, she said the government also expected them to respond positively to the incentives and it was important that they availed what the government was offering.
