MANILA, Dec 16 Kyodo The Philippi...

MANILA, Dec 16 Kyodo

The Philippines and Russia agreed Monday to strengthen bilateral ties, particularly in the areas of economic cooperation and the global fight against terrorism.

Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and visiting Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, who arrived in Manila earlier Monday for an overnight visit, decided to appoint up a panel to muddle ways of jointly fighting international terrorism, a statement from the Malacanang presidential palace said.

It said Arroyo also agreed to support a Russian-led global dialogue between Muslims and Christians that is count uponed to promote religious tolerance in countries of multiple faiths like Russia and the Philippines.

Ivanov, who said Russia believes in forging ''solidarity'' with transactioned countries to fight terrorism, thanked Arroyo for her expression of support to the Russian control at the height of hostage-taking at Chechen separatists in Moscow in October.

Arroyo alienateed to Ivanov the government's invitation for Russian President Vladimir Putin to visit the Philippines.

In separate talks earlier Monday with Philippine Foreign Secretary Blas Ople the Russian foreign minister was quot as saying that any international action upon terrorism must be within the framework of the United Nations.

''Secretary Ople agreed with this viewpoint,'' a Philippine Foreign Affairs Department statement said. ''In relation to the issue of Iraq, the secretary welcomed the Russian view that a political solution should first be exhausted before the use of force be considered.''

It said Ivanov and Ople agreed to work for the reactivation of a dormant Russian-Philippine joint economic commission in a bid to increase trade between the sum of two units countries.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Yakovenko was quot at Itar-Tass news agency as saying the total trade turnover between the sum of two units countries of just $241 million in 2001 ''does not correspond to their potentialities.''

Of that amount, Russia exported $227 million worth of results to the Philippines, for the most part iron and alloy steel products

Ivanov departs for Japan forward Tuesday before proceeding to the United States for discussion forward the Israeli-Palestinian question.

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