Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo left Saturday morning for Helsinki, Finland to attend the 6th Esia-Europe Meeting, reported the Philippine News Agency.

Finland will be the first leg of a nine-day, five-nation trip of Arroyo to bolster economic, trade, political and bilateral relations with these countries, said the report.

Arroyo was accompanied by First Gentleman Atty. Jose Miguel Arroyo and several cabinet ministers.

When joining 38 other heads of state at ASEM in Finland, Arroyo is expected to discuss with the other leaders of Asian and European countries a wide range of subjects, including bilateral trade, international terrorism and ways to address human rights violations, said the report.

Arroyo will proceed to Brussels, Belgium for meetings with political and business leaders of the European Union before visiting Britain, Cuba and the United States.

Source: Xinhua