The Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) must always make
itself relevant so as to maintain its vitality, Philippine
President Gloria Macapagal- Arroyo said in Manila on October 13.
In
an interview with Chinese correspondents based in Manila, President
Arroyo said different regional fora run the risk of eventually
becoming moribund, so the APEC should keep relevant to prevent that
scenario.
"The relevance of the APEC in the future is whether it can address
the rapid international capital flows, the rapid advances in the
information and communications technology (ICT), and the threat to
world peace coming from global terrorism," she said.
The APEC is now facing three major challenges, topmost of which is
that the organization should continue to be relevant, according to
Arroyo, who will attend the ninth Informal APEC Economic Leaders'
Meeting to be held in the east Chinese city of Shanghai on October
20-21.
"And to be relevant, we must now address the issue of economic
security resulting from the global terrorist threat," she said,
referring to the September 11 terror attacks on the United
States.
She said the issue should be included in the agenda of the upcoming
APEC meeting, although the grouping will still focus on its
original goals, including the promotion of trade and investments
and the facilitation of economic and technological cooperation.
"The number one problem now in the economic environment is the
environment of economic security," she said, explaining that a big
source of economic slowdown now is the uncertainty resulting from
the September 11 event.
The 54-year-old president said that is the reason why she has
requested to speak on terrorism at a luncheon for the APEC
leaders.
The second challenge facing the APEC members, she said, is how to
push the World Trade Organization (WTO) forward so that the
developing countries will really have a "meaningful" special and
differential treatment.
That kind of treatment means "not only a difference in the way that
we time our liberalization, but also the capability building to
prepare for that liberalization," she stressed.
She said the Philippine government supports the launching of a new
round of multilateral trade talks because it believes the new round
is an important way by which the new reality in the 21st century
can be addressed.
On
China's entry into the WTO, she said her country would like to look
at the opportunities that will come with it. "We want to be able to
explore the opportunities for the Philippines emerging from that
entry and we hope that there will be many opportunities indeed
because the old, long-standing ties between China and the
Philippines."
The president said the third challenge is how the APEC can promote
the ICT among its 21 members in the new century as it is a world of
ICT now.
On
the role of the APEC, She said the forum is unique compared to
other regional groupings because it represents the economies around
the Pacific, which also represents the fastest growing economies in
the world.
"Therefore, in this forum, we can agree on how to address economic
security, on how to promote a truly development round in the WTO,
and on how ICT can move forward to facilitate APEC processes," she
said.
(People's Daily 10/14/2001)