Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle is leaving today (6 February) for South-East Asia where he will visit the Philippines, Singapore and Indonesia.

During the first stop on his tour, Manila (Philippines), Foreign Minister Westerwelle will meet President Benigno S. Aquino III, Foreign Minister Albert F. del Rosario and others tomorrow (7 February).

The Minister will also have talks with representatives of European and German organizations to find out more about the progress made in the Mindanao peace process.

On 8 February, the Minister will take part in a business round table in Manila organized by the German-Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GPCCI). Afterwards, he will tour a training project for Philippine sailors which is being run by a German shipping company.

In the Asian finance and trade hub Singapore, the Minister will deliver an address at the International Institute for Strategic Studies on “Europe at a crossroads – The path towards fresh growth” on Friday evening (8 February). The next day (9 February), he will meet his Singaporean counterpart, Kasiviswanathan Shanmugam, among others.

The third port of call will be the G20 member state Indonesia. On 10 February, Foreign Minister Westerwelle will visit Borobudur to see first-hand the restoration work done on the Buddhist temple compounds, which is being partially financed with German Government funding.

In the evening, he will arrive in the Indonesian capital Jakarta. There he is due to meet Indonesia’s Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa as well as the new ASEAN Secretary-General Le Luong Minh on 11 February. The Minister will also take part in an event organized by the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KADIN) as well as the German-Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (EKONID). Moreover, he will have talks in Jakarta with representatives of civil society, religious communities and human rights organizations.