bilarboy's mind

Visiting Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper sees the Philippines as "an emerging Asian tiger," agreeing with the bullish outlook on the country of political and business leaders from many other parts of the world. To demonstrate Canada's confidence in the Philippine economy, Harper pledged to increase Canadian investment in the country during his meeting with President Benigno Aquino in Malacanang yesterday. Bilateral trade between Canada and the Philippines amounts to US$1.5 billion. Aquino and Harper agreed to cooperate on defence and trade, and committed to people-to-people exchanges between the Philippines and Canada. At a joint news conference, Aquino and Harper announced that the Philippine Department of National Defence and the state-run Canadian Commercial Corp. had signed a deal to help Manila buy military equipment to defend its territory. The deal was signed amid a territorial dispute between the Philippines and China over islands an...