President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Tuesday encouraged fellow ASEAN leaders to assess global trade shifts, emphasizing the need to identify potential risks, advantages, or opportunities that can be maximized.
“I was telling all the others that what we have to do is to identify what those changes are going to be. Is it damaging? Or is it to our advantage? Or is it something that we can maximize?” President Marcos said in a media interview on Tuesday regarding the ASEAN discussions on global trade and the economy.
“And that’s how we need to adjust. Because whatever else happens, this will change, this is changing, this will change, this has changed,” the President noted.
The President pointed out that ASEAN member states have a broad consensus on the importance of strengthening regional cooperation and interdependence to help ensure continued stability.
Despite the present situation, President Marcos said ASEAN members are confident about the vibrancy of their economies, stressing that those who are stable should help vulnerable members.
“If we cannot sell to these markets anymore, then let’s sell to each other’s markets,” the President pointed out.
“But we can… It seems that the best, most solid way forward is to be a reliable partner for each other in ASEAN.”
President Marcos also highlighted ASEAN’s engagement with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) as a new and valuable addition to the summit’s agenda, noting it was not part of previous interactions.
He described the initiative as a “very, very good idea,” emphasizing that the inclusion of a GCC-China trilateral meeting could contribute to the formation of a highly significant economic bloc.
“And if we come to a good arrangement, then that will be a rival to any kind of economic bloc anywhere in the world. And that is well-recognized,” he said.
“The trilateral with GCC and China and ASEAN, talagang ‘pag pinagsama mo lahat ‘yan, this is a very large part of the world population and certainly a very large part of the world’s wealth and economic activity.”
The President just concluded Tuesday his attendance to the 46th ASEAN Summit, 2nd ASEAN-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit and ASEAN-GCC-China Summit. | PND
