Ramos leaves for trip to Americas

Ramos leaves for trip to Americas

MANILA (AFP): Philippine President Fidel Ramos left for a working trip to the United States and state visits to Panama and Mexico yesterday.

Ramos, accompanied by his wife Amelita, Foreign Affairs Secretary Domingo Siazon, Trade Secretary Cesar Bautista and Press Secretary Hector Villanueva and a high-powered 86-member business delegation, departed Manila shortly after noon (0400 GMT) for Los Angeles.

His trip is expected to generate US$2.75 billion worth of trade and investments for the Philippines, Bautista said.

Ramos was due to arrive in Los Angeles later yesterday for a four-day visit combining meetings with California business leaders and the largest gathering of the substantial American- Filipino community in recent memory.

He will also sign contracts with leading information technology companies for software created in the Philippines to help the world's computers make the leap to the year 2000.