At a glance

President Arroyo's accomplishments during her 4-day visit

• Staved off further cuts in the official development assistance (ODA) after President Arroyo stressed to Japanese officials that the country has improved its capacity to utilize Japanese ODA;



• Obtained a $352 million loan agreement for the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway project, financed mainly by Japan through the Obuchi fund (The expressway will cut to 30 minutes the current two-hour travel time from Clark to Subic);



• Obtained an investment pledge of some $150 million for a nickel processing plant in Rio Tuba, Palawan from the Sumitomo Metal Mining Corp., which is expected to generate some 1,000 new jobs during its three-year construction period plus another 1,000 new jobs when it starts to operate;



• Witnessed the signing of five memoranda of agreement (MOAs) between Filipino businessmen and their Japanese counterparts:
  
  
  • Between Pacific Consultants and the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority Pacific for a $215 million port project;
  
  
  
  • Between the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) and the Saga Prefectural Federation of Agricultural Cooperative of Japan to promote employment and human resource development;
  
  
  
  • Between the TUCP and the Kyushu Bussan Shoji Co. Ltd. of Japan to promote labor cooperation in high-quality marine resources;
  
  
  
  • Between Asia Solutions Philippines Inc. and Seiko Electric Co. Ltd. for an information technology training and learning program in the country for two years;
  
  
  
  • Between Information Technology Foundation of the Philippines and the Japan Information Technology Examination Center to promote cooperation in information technology testing and certification;
  
  
  
• Created a Cabinet-level Information Technology and E-Commerce Council during the Global Business Dialogue on E-Commerce to formulate and implement ICT policies in the Philippines;



• Witnessed the launching of the 25 million-peso Internet Learning Kiosk (iLINK) project of Japan's Mitsubishi Corp. and Ayala Corp.;



• Obtained a $200 million investment pledge from Sankyo Seiki President Yuzo Oguchi for a manufacturing plant at the Subic Free Port in Zambales for the production of fluid dynamic bearings for hard disks and the introduction of robotic equipment;



• Obtained a $5 million investment pledge from Tsuneishi Shipping for its expansion program, particularly in the training of Filipino seafarers in information technology;



• Obtained a written apology from Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi for the ordeal that Filipino comfort women endured during World War II; and,



• Renewed and strengthened ties with the Japanese Imperial Family.