Philippines to be regional hub for energy delivery: foreign secretary

MANILA, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines is now making its move to be the regional hub for the delivery of Russian fuel and energy products to other Asia Pacific countries, the foreign affairs secretary said on Wednesday.

In his statement, Philippine foreign secretary Alberto Romulo said that he will meet with Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov together with Philippine National Oil Corporation (PNOC) president Ed Manalac, intending to conclude a bilateral agreement on energy cooperation.

Romulo said Russia is fortifying its global distribution networks for its oil, natural gas and coal, and has adopted an outward- looking approach for prospective markets.

"We hope to generate Russia's keen interest on this and other possible areas of bilateral energy cooperation," Romulo said, stressing that the Philippines is the nearest Southeast Asian country to Russia's resource-rich part of Siberia in the far east.

Romulo added that the Philippines needs to diversify its fuel sources and explore alternative long-term strategies to address heavy reliance on the middle east as the prime source.

Romulo made the statement before he left for Paris, where he will address the plenary session of UNESCO. He will visit Russia after that occasion.