VIENTIANE, Laos -- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today called on the leadership of Myanmar to allow the participation of Aung San Suu Kyi and the National League for Democracy in Myanmar’s national convention.

The President conveyed her sentiments to Myanmar Prime Minister Lt. Gen. Soe Win during a meeting he requested on the sidelines of the 10^th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) leaders’ summit.

The Chief Executive said Soe Win assured her that his government is determined to ensure the success of the national convention, which will be followed by a referendum to ratify Myanmar’s constitution.

Mrs. Macapagal-Arroyo said Soe Win told her that the Myanmar government invited Aung San Suu Kyi to participate in the national convention but the latter declined the invitation.

Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize winner and leader of Myanmar’s democracy movement, is under house arrest.

The President said she informed Soe Win that as an "ASEAN neighbor and representative for ASEAN as a non-permanent member of the US Security Council, to make the National Convention truly successful and meaningful, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the National League for Democracy should be represented" in the Myanmar national convention.

She added that she also conveyed the message of Kofi Annan, UN secretary general, that Myanmar should arrange another visit of a UN special envoy.

Vientiane (via PLDT) – President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo repeated today her call for the ASEAN dialog partners, China, Japan and Republic of Korea, to consider Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines-East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) for their investment programs. H.E. Junichiro Koizumi, Prime Minister of Japan, and H.E. Roh Moo-hyun, President of the Republic of Korea, met with the ASEAN Leaders in separate summits held this morning at the Lao International Trade Exhibition and Conference Center.

During the ASEAN-Japan Summit, the President recalled that Japan responded to RP’s call last year to include the BIMP-EAGA as a priority area. She expressed her desire for the ASEAN Secretariat, in coordination with the ASEAN Business and Advisory Council (ABAC), to immediately respond to the questions and proposals raised last year by Japan concerning BIMP-EAGA to expedite the long-planned Japanese mission to the sub-region.

In the ASEAN-Republic of Korea Summit which immediately followed, the President reiterated the Philippines’ desire for the BIMP-EAGA "to move up to a level of vibrant business activity." She encouraged President Roh to take a closer look at BIMP-EAGA, and made the assurance that the Philippine government clearly supports the activities in the area.

The President first made mention of the importance of BIMP-EAGA and the support that the Philippine government gives to it when she responded to the report of the representative of ABAC to the ASEAN heads of States and Governments yesterday. She noted that BIMP-EAGA is a private sector activity which carries out the vision of the ASEAN especially in narrowing down the development gap. She requested the Philippine delegates to ABAC to initiate the drafting of a BIMP-EAGA work program to help the dialog partners identify potential joint venture activities.