Relieved by the improving health condition of First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo, President Arroyo will take her 80th foreign travel Monday, with a five-day swing in the United States and Spain.

Apart from pursuing an agenda of nuclear security and economic stability, the President will receive two prestigious awards, one for efforts for protecting marine resources and another for promoting the Spanish language in schools, during her latest journey to the country's former colonizers, according to Malacañang.

Her first stop is Washington, D.C. to attend a nuclear security summit convened by US President Barack Obama Monday, April 12, and Tuesday to bolster global efforts on nuclear disarmament.

Mrs. Arroyo, who just came from a two-day journey in Vietnam for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit, will join Obama and more than 40 other world leaders to ensure terrorists never get their hands on nuclear weapons.

“The President will attend the nuclear summit to discuss measures to curb the threat of nuclear terrorism and control the spread of nuclear materials that could be used for terrorism,” Deputy Presidential Spokesman Gary Olivar said.

“This is a prelude to the next conference nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NNPT) conference hosted by the Philippines this May,” he added. The conference will be held at the United Nations headquarters in New York City.

Olivar said the President has no scheduled bilateral meeting with Obama, but will meet with some US congressional leaders to thank their support for the Philippines during her brief tour of Washington DC this week.

Olivar said the President will also receive the Teddy Roosevelt International Conservation Award for her work on the preservation of marine resources in the Coral Triangle Initiative.

The award will be given by the International Conservation Caucus Foundation, a bipartisan congressional forum that promotes conservation of the world’s rich natural resources.

The President will also thank US lawmakers for the prestigious award “for strengthening bilateral relations and request for continued support,” according to Olivar.

“We will take this renewed activity as a good news and evidence that the medical condition of the First Gentleman is improving,” Olivar said.

The President earlier decided to resume her foreign trips after First Gentleman has started to recover from a heart ailment. Mr. Arroyo was discharged from a hospital last week and has been advised to undergo a healthy diet and physical rehabilitation.

The last US trip of the President was in July last year when she met for the first time newly elected President Obama at the White House.

From the US, the President will visit Spain on Thursday,April 15, and Friday, for a flurry of meetings with King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofia, government leaders, and the Filipino community.

In Madrid, she will receive the Premio Internacional Don Quixote de la Mancha from the King for promoting the Spanish language in the Philippine educational system.

The awarding rites will be held at the Palacio de la Zarzuela, the residence of the Spanish king. The other awardee is Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa for the individual category.

The President is scheduled to hold a private meeting with the King and sit down for lunch with the Royal Family.

Earlier, the President asked the Philippine Department of Education to encourage the teaching and learning of the Spanish language in schools, initially in 15 secondary schools. Teachers have also started to train at the Instituto Cervantes in Manila, the Spanish Embassy’s language school.

In Madrid, the President will also hold talks with Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, also president of the European Union.

Another meeting was set with Tomas Pascual, President of Grupo Leche Pascual, a Spanish food conglomerate, planning to set up its regional headquarters in the Philippines.