CEBU, Philippines, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and visiting New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark held talks here Sunday on bilateral energy cooperation and renewable energy sources, a press release said.

    Clark, who arrived here Sunday to attend 2nd East Asian Summit (EAS) which will open on Monday, told Arroyo at their bilateral meeting that New Zealand has the technology, particularly in geothermal energy, which could be helpful to the Philippines.

    On the other hand, Arroyo told Clark that the Philippines and other ASIAN countries' rich natural energy resources are just waiting to be tapped.

    The two leaders also agreed that using renewable sources of energy would help the environment and prevent global warming resulting from excessive use of fossil fuels.

    On the air services cooperation, the two leaders also discussed the possibility of forging an air services agreement between the two countries.

    In a related development, 16 leaders attending Monday's 2nd EAS will sign a declaration on energy security which would help shape a common regional policy for energy issues, including the development and use of alternative and renewable forms of energy.

    The 16 countries are 10 ASEAN members: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia. ASEAN Plus Three: China, Japan, Republic of Korea and three additional members of the EAS: India, Australia and New Zealand.