WASHINGTON DC – President Arroyo has only 45 minutes with US President Barack Obama to seek closer cooperation on economic and security issues and concerns on Thursday (Friday in Manila) at the White House.

President Arroyo arrived here Wednesday night (Thursday morning in Manila) for a three-day working visit, apparently exhausted from the long travel from Manila, but excited about her historic meeting with the 44th President of the United States to reaffirm strong links between the two nations.

Under heavy security, the meeting between the two leaders, which will be held at the Oval Office at 2:30 pm Thursday (2:30 am Friday in Manila), will include discussions on how to work together to combat international terrorism, climate change, and the global recession.

Addressing the Filipino community leaders at the Willard Hotel on the eve of the White House visit, the President said she expects a “straightforward” meeting with Obama, their first personal contact after only an exchange of phone calls and letters in recent months.

The Chief Executive, clad in a baro’t saya designed with crystals, said she was pleased to accept Obama’s invitation to be the first leader from Southeast Asia to meet the American President since his assumption to office last January. This is the President’s 72nd foreign trip and the 16th visit to the US since 2001.

“The fact that President Obama sought out the Philippines for this historic opportunity is a testament to the strong and deep ties between our two nations,” she said.

“Our expectations for the trip are straightforward: To meet the new US President and advance the interests of the Philippines with our strongest friend and ally,” she said.

Mrs. Arroyo acknowledged that the United States remains essential to the country’s economic, diplomatic, and national security. “We plan to ensure that these objectives remain front and center and on track between our two nations,” she said.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, Sen. Miriam Santiago, House Speaker Prospero Nograles, Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo, and Philippine Ambassador to Washington Willy Gaa will join the President in her meeting with Obama Friday.

First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo, who accompanied the President in her US tour, said he will skip the highly anticipated meeting with Obama, saying it was a working visit, not a social one.

Ermita, in a separate interview, said the two presidents are likely to discuss ways to reinforce the campaign against terrorism following the bomb blasts in Jakarta. He said the President will also thanked Obama for the passage of a law providing one-time payment to Filipino World War II veterans last February.

Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro said they will look into greater military cooperation with the United States in terms of intelligence sharing and counterrorism training of troops to combat the remnants of the Abu Sayyaf group and other insurgents in Mindanao.

Teodoro added development assistance to Mindanao will also be tackled in the President’s meeting with the US leader.

He said there was no need to bring up a review of the RP-US Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) during the Arroyo-Obama meeting despite the recent controversy over the release of an American soldier who was cleared of rape charges.

Ahead of her meeting with Obama, the President will also attend a forum on the Coral Triangle Initiative hosted by the National Geographic and meet with several US lawmakers at the US Capitol.

On the President’s meeting with the officials of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) on July 31, Ermita said they are confident that the Philippines will get a satisfactory rating in its anti-corruption efforts to obtain access to large-scale development funds.

Ermita said they will present another comprehensive report about the government’s compliance with the MCC requirements in August. By December, he said the government would know if the country was getting the funds.

On Saturday, Aug. 1, the President will travel to New York City to attract more investments for the country in her meetings with American business leaders. Her next stop will be Chicago for meetings with potential investors and members of the Filipino community.

On Monday, the Chief Executive will fly to Guam to meet state officials, many of whom are of Filipino ancestry, and meet thousands of Filipinos living and working in the US territory.