|
Saudi Loans For Mindanao Development
by Kazi Mahmood for IslamOnline
KUALA LUMPUR, April 15 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - The Saudi Arabian government has granted a loan of $20 million to the Philippines government for the development of the Mindanao region, Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said on Sunday.
She added that the loan, given to the Philippines since 1997, but not used by the previous Manila administrations, was offered to the country after the signing of the peace agreement with the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).
Arroyo thanked Saudi Ambassador Saleh Mohammad Al-Ghamdi for the loan offer. The financial assistance is to be used principally for the development of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
The President said her government is implementing several projects to speed up the development of Mindanao, especially in war-ravaged areas, and that the loan would be of great help.
"We thank and acknowledge the $20 million soft loan from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to support the rebuilding of places that used to be conflict areas," Arroyo said.
She also thanked Malaysia and Libya for their plans to invest in a palm oil project in Basilan, Sulu province.
"We invite all the other Organization Of Islamic Conference [OIC] member-states to invest in Mindanao as the peace and development process shifts into high gear.
"Thank you once again for all the support you have been giving all these years and I hope that now that we are reaching a new stage of peace and development, the support would continue to be forthcoming and would even be greater," she added.
Speaking on behalf of the OIC envoys, Brunei Darussalam Ambassador Haji Yahya lauded the President's peace initiatives, saying the resumption of peace talks with the MILF "heralds a new hope for peace and development" for the Muslim communities in Mindanao.
"Rest assured, your Excellency, that the OIC and its individual members would extend all the support necessary to back your government as you embark on another journey towards peace. In case you will be needing help, the OIC will stand by your government," he told the President.
Arroyo expressed her gratitude to the envoys, recalling the OIC's role in four-year negotiations that led to the signing of the final peace agreement between the government and the MNLF in 1996.
The ambassadors also asked the president about the current status of the Philippines-MNLF peace agreement, to which Arroyo said the Philippine government has faithfully implemented the accord.
A new law expanding the scope of the present ARMM will take effect Monday.
Arroyo said a plebiscite could be held sometime between May 3rd and June 29th, and the election of new ARMM officials is scheduled for September 10th. Elected officials will begin their term on September 30th.
"These events will complete the compliance of the government of the peace accord. We would like to request the OIC for full support of the new ARMM in terms of development assistance," Arroyo said.
Since coming to power, Arroyo has initiated fresh peace talks in Mindanao by signing an agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which has 12,500 fully armed members deployed in the south, and with whom the Philippines has battled.
Moros living in Mindanao are fighting for an independent Islamic state in the south of the country.
Peace talks are expected to resume April 29th in Manila as the first talks venue, eventually shifting to either Jakarta in Indonesia, or Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia.
|
