Singaporean Goh visits Philippines

Singaporean Goh visits Philippines

MANILA (DPA): Singaporean Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong is set to arrive in the Philippines today for a three-day state visit aimed at reinvigorating bilateral ties which had been strained in 1995 due to the hanging of a Filipino overseas worker for murder.

A presidential palace statement said yesterday Goh would be accompanied by a high-powered delegation of government and business leaders during the visit, which will focus on strengthening economic relations between the two countries.

During the visit, Goh is scheduled to hold meetings with President Fidel Ramos, top government officials and business leaders. He is also slated to be the keynote address at a Singapore-Philippines Business Council conference.

Relations between the Philippines and Singapore cooled in 1995 after the city-state executed Filipino maid Flor Contemplacion for the murder of a fellow domestic and a four-year-old Singaporean boy.