President Aquino back from Asia Pacific Economic
Cooperation Summit held in Vladivostok, Russia
President Benigno S. Aquino III arrived Sunday
after attending the 20th Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit held
in Vladivostok, Russia from September 8 to 9.
The President’s chartered flight touched down on
the tarmac of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport at 5:45 p.m. and reached
its designated disembarking zone of Terminal 2 five minutes later at 5:50 p.m.
In his speech, the President said his two-day
attendance to the Summit, albeit short, was still a success as he was able to
bring the Philippines commitment to join member countries in a unified move
towards achieving progress for all by laying down the foundations of
cooperation and peace.
“Matagumpay nating naiparating sa dalawampung
ibang ekonomiya ang hangarin nating makipag-bayanihan hindi lamang para makamit
ang kaunlaran kundi para maitindig ang pundasyon ng kooperasyon at kapayapaan,”
the President said.
To achieve this, the President cited the various
agreements entered into by 20-member countries of APEC such as to strategically
strengthen the conduct of commerce between countires and the implementation of
better supply chains and reforms to ensure the delivery of food to this region.
“Ilan sa mga paksang napagkasunduan ay ang
pagpapanday ng mga estratehiyang magpapatatag sa ating kalakalan at
pamumuhunan. Ang pagtataguyod ng mas matibay na supply chains gayundin ang
pagpupundar ng mga reporma upang matiyak ang pang-matagalang supply ng pagkain
sa dakong ito ng mundo,” the President said.
“Tinalakay din sa APEC Business Advisory Council
ang kalagayan ng pamumuhunan sa Asya Pasipiko at kung paano ito gagawing mas
produktibo at maaliwalas para sa buong rehiyon. Nananalig akong ang ugnayang
ito ay magtitindig ng pader na magsisilbing pananggalang laban sa anumang
pinansyal na daluyong na maaaring dumagsa sa rehiyon,” he added.
The President said that all agreements and
initiatives borne out of the APEC Summit were entered into and implemented for
the benefit of the people of the region.
“Lahat ng nabuong kasunduan, lahat ng nahubog na
ugnayan, lahat ng inisyatibang sinimulan sa APEC ay nakatutok lamang sa
paghahatid ng maunlad at kapaki-pakinabang na Asya Pasipiko para sa susunod
pang mga henerasyon,” the President said.
On hand to welcome the President back home were
government officials led by Vice President Jejomar Binay, Executive Secretary
Paquito Ochoa Jr., Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff Gen. Jessie
Dellosa and Philippine National Police chief Police Director General Nicanor
Bartolome.
Also present were members of the cabinet that
included Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, Budget Secretary Florencio Abad,
Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office Secretary Ramon
Carandang and Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio
“Sonny” B. Coloma Jr., among others. PND (rck)
President Aquino upbeat about sharing country's
'new face' with the world
The Asia Pacific Economic Cooperative (APEC)
Summit not only served as a venue for the 20-member countries to map out
directions towards becoming a potent economic force in the region but an
opportunity to present the “new face” of the Philippines, President Benigno S.
Aquino III said on Sunday.
In his speech upon his arrival at the Ninoy
Aquino International Airport Terminal 2 on Sunday, the President said his
two-day attendance to the APEC Summit allowed him the opportunity to present
the Philippines as now a better place for businesses with fair and equal
opportunities for businessmen, a conducive business climate for member
countries not only in the Asia Pacific region but the whole world as well.
“Sa kabuuan, matagumpay nating naipabatid ang
bagong mukha ng Pilipinas: mas bukas para sa negosyo at oportunidad; mas patas
para sa mga handang mamuhunan; at mas maaliwalas na sentro ng komersyo at
pangangalakal hindi lamang sa Asya Pasipiko kundi sa buong mundo,” the
President said.
“Tulad ng mga nakalipas nating
pangingibang-bayan, iisa ang maugong na bukambibig ng daigdig: Ibang-iba na ang
Pilipinas—angat sa iba. Kaya’t tibagin man ang mga barikadang pang-ekonomiya ay
hindi matigil sa pag-aarangkada,” he added.
He challenged all Filipinos to do their share in
maintaining the luster of this new, revitalized Philippines whose benefits, he
said, would redound to all and the next generation of Filipinos as well.
“Kung nagawa ng dalawampu’t isang bansa sa APEC
na mag-balikatan tungo sa iisang adhikain, handa rin dapat ang bawat Pilipinong
maki-ambag para maabot natin ang ating pambansang hangarin. Kinabukasan ng
susunod na salinlahi ang nakataya po dito. Huwag sana nating balewalain,” the
President said.
“Kaya naman ipagpatuloy lang po natin ang
pagtitiwala at pakikilahok sa pamahalaan. Iangat po natin ang ating kapwa sa
maliit o malaki mang paraan at tiyak na makakamtan natin ang katuparan ng mga
pangarap natin sa tuwid na daan,” he added. PND (rck)
President Aquino and other 20 leaders of APEC
agree to strengthen food security
(VLADIVOSTOK, Russia) President Aquino and the
other 20 leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) agreed to
strengthen food security through the implementation of the Niigata Declaration
and the progress made in the Kazan Declaration on Food Security.
The agreement was contained in the APEC
Declaration issued by the 21 member economies of APEC on Sunday (Vladivostok
time) at the conclusion of the 20th APEC Leaders' Meeting at the APEC Conference
Center here. The APEC Leaders' Meeting has for its theme "Integrate to
Grow, Innovate to Prosper."
"To advance this work, we are committed to
increasing sustainable agricultural production and productivity, considering
the diversity of environmental conditions world-wide and positive externalities
of agriculture, further facilitating trade and developing food markets,
enhancing food safety improving access to food for vulnerable groups and
improving farmer's welfare," the APEC leaders said.
They vowed to implement measures to help ensure
sustainable marine ecosystems management and combating illegal fishing and
associated trade adding that sustainable agricultural growth is a
"priority for all our economies."
The APEC leaders also expressed the belief that
deeper involvement of the relevant private and public sector stakeholders into
APEC's food security efforts will contribute significantly in addressing their
shared goals.
To promote their food security goals, the APEC
leaders agreed to take the following steps:
-- Supporting the effective and multi-faceted
work of the Food Safety Cooperation Forum;
-- Encouraging further cooperation and dialogue
among the economies on undwrstanding, recognition and capacity building
regarding the benefits of harmonizing domestic regulations on food safety and
quality with international standards consistent with the World Trade
Organization Agreements on Technical Barriers to Trade and on the Application
of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures;
-- Striving to improve domestic food safety
systems by implementing previous control measures, building information sharing
networks,strengthening laboratory capacity, and building regional capacityto
respond to high priority food safety hazards and minimize food safety incidents;
-- Exploring ways to improve economic and
physical access to food for vulnerable groups including those facing an
emergency due to natural and anthropogenic disasters, encouraging exchange of
best practices on the provision of food for vulnerable populations, including
through social and school feeding, strengthening sustainable social protection
and social safety nets; and
--
Enhancing cooperation to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and
associated trade, working towards sustainable management of marine ecosystems,
improving capture fisheries management and sustainable aquaculture practices,
and facilitating sustainable open and fair trade in products of fisheries and
aquaculture. PND (rsda)
Philippines and other 20 member-economies of
APEC reaffirm commitment to improve supply-chain by 2015
(VLADIVOSTOK, Russia) --- The 21 member-economies
of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), including the Philippines,
have reaffirmed their commitment to achieve 10 percent improvement in
supply-chain performance by 2015 in terms of reduction of time, cost, and
uncertainty of moving goods and services through the Asia-Pacific region.
President Benigno S. Aquino III and the other 20
world leaders made the reaffirmation of their commitment through a joint
declaration at the conclusion of the 20th APEC Leaders' Meeting on Sunday
(Vladivostok time) at the Far Eastern Federal University on Russkiy Island
here.
"We welcome the adoption of a more
systematic approach to addressing existing chokepoints in supply chains through
targeted capacity-building and concrete steps towards making supply chains more
reliable, resilient, safe, efficient, transparent, diversified and intelligent,
and direct officials to advance this work in 2012 to be completed by
2014," the declaration stated.
Noting that the reliability of supply chains is
crucial to facilitate trade, maintain sustainable development, and ensure
economic, energy, food, and environmental security in the region, the APEC
leaders encouraged continued discussion with the business community and other
relevant stakeholders on the diversification of transportation routes in the
region and resiliency planning to build the most efficient supply chain
networks.
The APEC leaders agreed that it is also crucial
to advance the discussion on the technological enhancement of supply chains
with a view to promoting greener, smarter, more efficient and intelligent
supply chains.
They also voiced support for continued
discussion with the business community and other relevant stakeholders on
Authorized Economic Operators programs, in line with the World Customs
Organization/APEC SAFE Framework of Standards.
Recognizing the significance of travel and
tourism in job creation, economic growth and development in the Asia-Pacific,
the APEC leaders commended the efforts of APEC Tourism and Transport Ministers
in encouraging the facilitation of international travel to assess the
liberalization of air transportation services and to improve safety and
security of tourist products.
It was cited that terrorism is a serious threat
to economic growth, security, stability and supply chain reliability, thus they
reaffirmed their commitments to implement the APEC Consolidated
Counter-Terrorism and Secure Trade Strategy. They also supported deeper
cooperation and capacity building across the Strategy’s priority areas of
secure trade, travel, finance, and infrastructure to make regional commerce
more secure, efficient, and resilient.
The APEC leaders also reaffirmed the importance
of enhancing preventative measures, emergency preparedness, disaster resiliency
and fostering of scientific and technical cooperation among APEC economies,
communities and businesses.
"We recognize the importance of easing the
mobility of relief assistance in the aftermath of disaster to minimize
casualties," the APEC leaders said. PND (CO)
APEC leaders voice commitment to fight against
corruption
(VLADIVOSTOK, Russia) Formally recognizing the
need to address the problem of corruption and transparency, the 21
member-economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) agreed to
stamp out corruption.
"We strongly commit to fight against corruption
to ensure openness and transparency in APEC," the APEC leaders said in the
APEC Declaration issued Sunday (Vladivostok time) at the close of the 2-day
APEC Leaders' Meeting at the APEC Conference Center here.
"Acknowledging that corruption fuels illicit
trade and insecurity and is a tremendous barrier to economic growth, the safety
of citizens, and to the strengthening of economic and investment cooperation
among APEC economies, we endorse commitments on fighting corruption and
ensuring transparency," the APEC leaders said.
They likewise welcomed addressing in 2012
transparency as a new next generation trade and investment issue.
"We remain committed to addressing next
generation trade and investment issues as an important aspect of our work to
further integration of APEC economies and expansion of trade throughout the
region," they added.
The APEC leaders noted that transparency is one
of the basic principles underlying trade liberalization and facilitation.
Since he assumed office in June 2010, President
Aquino has always been espousing good governance and transparency in the
bureaucracy and public service. He has also been very vocal in his advocacy to
fight graft and corruption in government.
He was catapulted to power through his popular campaign
slogan "Kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap" which up to this day has
been the hallmark of his administration's goal in achieving the country's
progress and development. PND (rsda)
APEC leaders agree to encourage innovative
growth in Asia-Pacific region
(VLADIVOSTOK, Russia) President Benigno S.
Aquino III and the other 20 leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
(APEC) have agreed to work together to foster innovative growth in the
Asia-Pacific region.
The agreement was included in the 2012 APEC
Leaders’ joint declaration issued on Sunday at the conclusion of two-day APEC
Leaders’ Meeting here at the Far Eastern Federal University on Russkiy Island,
the venue for this year’s APEC activities.
In their joint declaration, the 21 member-economies
of the APEC agreed to take important steps towards the development of
effective, non-discriminatory and market-driven innovation policies.
APEC said that it has already transformed the
Industrial Science and Technology Working Group into a Policy Partnership on
Science, Technology and Innovation (PPSTI) to address common challenges and
enhance innovation capacity.
The PPSTI will organize Innovation Technology
Dialogues---a mechanism to explore and identify how emerging innovative
technologies and related policies and instruments can address current
challenges faced by APEC economies.
The APEC leaders also welcomed the willingness
of New Zealand and Indonesia to jointly co-chair a meeting of APEC Chief
Science Advisers in 2013.
The leaders also recognized the importance of
small, medium and micro-sized enterprises (SMMEs), noting that these "are
a significant driver of development and innovation in the Asia-Pacific region
that will improve the quality of economic integration and competitiveness of
our economies."
"We note the importance to our innovation
goals of assisting SMMEs at an early stage, and expanding opportunities for
youth and women," the 2012 APEC Leaders’ joint declaration added.
Citing education as an essential driver of
innovative growth in the APEC region, the APEC leaders supported steps and
efforts to enhance the mobility of students, researchers, and education
providers within APEC through the development of higher education cooperation.
The leaders also mentioned that a healthy
population is crucial for sustainable development of human resources, and for
sustainable economic development and innovative growth in the APEC region. They
also supported efforts to address health issues across sectors, and encourage
further concrete steps to strengthen health systems.
The APEC leaders also reaffirmed the crucial
role of women in “achieving economic prosperity and inclusive growth in the
APEC region and encourage investing in women through the creation of better
business opportunities for women and including them in the innovative economy.”
APEC is an organization of economies in the
Asia-Pacific region, and a premier forum for facilitating economic growth,
cooperation, trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific region.
It has 21 members which account for
approximately 40 percent of the world’s population, approximately 54 percent of
the world gross domestic product and about 44 percent of world trade. PND (CO)
APEC member-economies welcome offer of
Philippines to host APEC Summit in 2015
(VLADIVOSTOK, Russia) The member-economies of
the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) welcomed the offer of the
Philippines to host the APEC summit in 2015.
The announcement of the Philippines hosting the
APEC in 2015 was contained in the joint declaration issued by the 21 APEC
leaders, including President Benigno S. Aquino III, at the conclusion of the
APEC leaders' Meeting with the theme of “Integrate to Grow, Innovate to
Prosper” held here at the Far Eastern Federal University on Russkiy Island.
The country will be hosting the APEC 2015 after
Indonesia and China.
"We welcome the offer of the People’s
Republic of China, the Philippines and Peru to host APEC in 2014, 2015 and 2016
respectively," the declaration stated.
"We welcome the invitation from the
President of Indonesia to meet again in Bali in 2013," it added.
Also in the joint declaration, the APEC leaders
believed that the work that has been done in APEC in 2012 to build a more
integrated society and ensure innovation-based economic growth "will
contribute to our common goal of achieving prosperity for APEC economies."
They also support the increasing engagement of
the APEC Business Advisory Council which contributes significantly to greater
collaboration between the public and private sectors.
"We remain fully committed to facilitate
the role of APEC’s business community and to provide more opportunities for its
participation in APEC’s work," the APEC leaders said.
They also reaffirmed their commitment to provide
effective economic and technical cooperation activities outlined in the Osaka
Action Agenda and to assist APEC members in accordance with the Manila
Framework.
The APEC leaders will also continue to take
necessary and concrete actions to mitigate negative effects, build resilience
of APEC economies and reach new heights in the development of the region. PND
(co)
