President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. will focus on food security and climate change mitigation in his meeting with fellow leaders at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in Bangkok, Thailand.
In a press briefing on Monday, DFA Assistant Secretary for International Economic Affairs Eric Gerardo Tamayo said the President is keen on discussing ways to ensure food security with his counterparts amid global disruptions caused by the pandemic.
“The President will be calling attention to the need to ensure food security, energy security, and also the robust response of APEC economies to the challenge of climate change adaptation and mitigation,” Tamayo said.
This will be the first time Marcos will attend the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting (AELM) on November 16-19 as President of the Philippines.
It will also be the first in-person meeting of the leaders of the APEC economies since the pandemic hit in early 2020.
Tamayo said this serves as a great opportunity for the President to push for APEC “to revitalize its role as a driver of global economic growth.”
“If you may recall, prior to the pandemic, the Asia Pacific Region had been the significant driver of global economic growth… This economic growth trajectory was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said.
“So the challenge before us is to facilitate the rapid recovery of economies from arising out of the pandemic and also to undertake the necessary measures to also counter disruptive forces that affect the current economic situation around the globe. That is something that the President will push for, recalling the significant role played by APEC in driving global growth and globalization in the world,” Tamayo pointed out.
Meanwhile, Tamayo said the chief executive is expected to have bilateral meetings with six other heads of state on the sidelines of the AELM, adding, however, that arrangements are still being finalized.
In the same briefing, DFA spokesperson Ma. Teresita Daza said APEC will be highly significant as it is the first time the leaders will meet again after two years of global lockdown.
Daza said the President will be joined by DFA Secretary Enrique Manalo and Trade and Industry Secretary Alfredo Pascual, among others.
The APEC serves as the premier Asia-Pacific economic forum established in 1989 with the primary goal of supporting sustainable economic growth and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region.
The Philippines is a founding member of APEC.
Daza said through the Philippines’ engagement, the country has contributed to the APEC agenda of promoting investment and trade across the region, facilitating the conduct of business, developing human capacity and capability, adopting regulatory reforms, the easing of transition into a digital economy and the expediting of economic recovery due to the pandemic.
She also noted that APEC is responsible for about 85 percent of the Philippines’ trade abroad while the APEC economies account for 82 percent of tourism flows into the country.
Around 60 percent of Filipinos abroad are in the APEC member economies and are responsible for 68 percent of the remittance back to the Philippines.
APEC has also provided economic and technical and capacity assistance to various government agencies, added Daza.
The Philippines has hosted APEC meetings twice, in 1996 and 2015. (PND)
