MANILA, Philippines – President Benigno Aquino III said the biggest gain from his state visit to Malaysia is the state’s support for Muslims in Mindano.

Aquino said he was grateful for Malaysia’s help towards attaining peace in Mindanao, and for its willingness to help out in Islamic banking practices.

“We have a state institution, a financial institution that should cater to the banking needs of our Muslim brothers, which is called Al-Amanah. And what Al-Amanah has succeeded in doing from the time it has started was to basically exhaust the capital that was infused into it,” he said on Friday, February 28.

“So much so that the Department of Finance has told us that there is no Islamic banking capability or expertise in the country. That’s why the MILF (Moro Islamic Liberation Front) has been asking that it be turned over to them or we will actually sell them the entity, so that a new entity with the necessary expertise will be able to service the banking needs in conformity with the principles of Islam, and also the continuous development resources of an endeavor which we have no skills at.”

Additionally, Aquino cited Malaysia’s help in completing the annexes of the Bangsamoro Framework Agreement. He said he was grateful for the “reaffirmation of their help towards attaining peace in Muslim Mindanao.”

“People are generally aware that they have been helping us, but I don’t know how many are aware that they have been helping us for a decade. There has been expense; there has been effort on their part—the facilitators, the monitoring team, and other components of the peace process,” he said.

Mutual cooperation

Aside from help with serving the interests of Muslim Filipinos, Aquino said Malaysia also encouraged the Philippines to expand its trade with ASEAN countries.

“The Prime Minister noted that the two-way trade between us is something like $4.5 billion. He notes that we are a very significant population in terms of size $97 million. So there is no reason that increased trade between neighboring ASEAN countries should not happen sooner rather than later,” he said.

In addition to boosting economic cooperation, the Philippines and Malaysia also agreed to work together in promoting arts and culture, as well as education.

The second day of his state visit to Malaysia, President Benigno Aquino III witnessed the signing of the Agreement on Cultural, Arts, and Heritage Cooperation, as well as the Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the Field of Education.

The signing came after an expanded bilateral meeting between Aquino and Malaysian Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Haji Mohammad Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak. They discussed political, economic, socio-cultural, and tourism cooperation, and the welfare of overseas Filipino workers in Malaysia.

The night earlier, on Thursday, Aquino paid a visit to the Filipino community in Malaysia, where he lauded the achievements of his government since he took the helm in 2010.

Aquino started his second day in Malaysia welcomed by His Majesty The Seri Paduka Baginda Yang Di-Pertuan Agong, the Head of State of Malaysia, and the Prime Minister at the Parliament House before the bilateral talks.

Later in the afternoon, Aquino attended forums and meetings with Malaysian businessmen. Some of the executives he is scheduled to meet are the president and CEO of Maybank Berhad, officials from Air Asia Group, Air Asia Berhad and Air Asia Philippines, and officials from Genting Berhad.

Maybank Berhad is the holding company for the Maybank Group, an international network of 47,000 employees in 20 countries, serving over 22 million customers. The AirAsia Group is the largest low-cost carrier in Asia in terms of fleet size and the number of passengers serviced, while Genting Berhad is responsible for developing an integrated tourist complex in Malaysia.

The day before, Aquino inaugurated the first Petron gas station in Kuala Lumpur, which represents the estimated $1.2 billion-investment of Petron Corporation in Malaysia.

Aquino is expected to arrive in Manila at 3:10 am Saturday from Malaysia, after a state banquet hosted by the King. – Rappler.com