Mahathir to visit the Philippines

Mahathir to visit the Philippines

MANILA (DPA): Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad is scheduled to arrive in the Philippines this week to discuss with President Fidel Ramos possible remedies for the financial crisis plaguing southeast Asia, officials said yesterday.

The Department of Foreign Affairs said Mahathir would arrive Feb. 6 and immediately hold meetings with Ramos focused on hammering out ways to rescue the region's reeling economies from the currency turmoil.

"We don't exactly know what he will have to say to the president, but we will discuss with him the setting up of (a system) using local currencies in (regional) trading," an official said.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Domingo Siazon earlier announced that an inter-agency body had suggested the creation of a scheme to allow businesses in Southeast Asia to use local currencies instead of U.S. dollars in trading goods.