INTRODUCTION
Let me extend a special welcome to our dear colleague and partner, his excellency Dato’ Seri Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad — Prime Minister of Malaysia; and a rousing mabuhay! To our friends of the APEC Business Forum (ABF) and of Malaysia’s business delegation who are gathered here tonight on this important occasion.

This is indeed a most opportune time for the launching of the Philippine-Malaysia Business Council (PMBC) at the conclusion of the APEC Business Forum (ABF) and at the eve of the 4th APEC leaders’ summit in Subic. This series of events highlight the healthy partnership between the governments and the private sector in this world’s most dynamic region.

The launching of this council sends a clear message that, indeed, the Philippines and Malaysia are resolved to attain the goals of the ABF and APEC.

The Philippine-Malaysian Business Council, chaired by Ricardo (Dick) J. Romulo on the Philippine side and Dick Chan on the Malaysian side has been established to deepen and broaden cooperation between the business communities of the Philippines and Malaysia, strong as that may be now.

I commend the council on its commitment to identify and develop areas of cooperation between both countries’ private sectors; to encourage and develop the trade links between the two countries; to encourage joint exploration of business opportunities in third countries; to identify business opportunities, in particular small and medium enterprises; and to enhance networking, contacts, and exchange of information between our two private sectors.
DEEPENING BILATERAL TIES
These objectives have begun to be carried out, and can be seen in the impressive increase in trade and investment ties between the Philippines and Malaysia. Philippine exports to Malaysia were growing at below 20% in 1991. But for the first quarter of 1996, that growth rate has surged to 98%. Our imports from Malaysia have also risen tremendously, from 9% in 1991 to 68% in the first quarter of this year.

Investments registered with the central bank of the Philippines alone for 1995 came up to us$37.185 million. During the first half of this year alone, those investments reached US$26.516 million, showing that investment relations between our countries are steadily improving. Other investments have been placed directly with the National Power Corporation (Napocor) and the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA).

This shift has taken place over just a few years, during which a basic and positive change took root in Philippine-Malaysian relations — economically, politically and culturally.

Let me cite a few examples of this strengthened kinship, which traces its roots to precolonial times, when our peoples freely traveled and traded across present-day national borders.

The establishment of the Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Philippines-East ASEAN Growth area (BIMP-EAGA) was a breakthrough in the expansion of relations within the East ASEAN Subregion.

The growth quadrangle is taking shape in the same area bound by both blood ties and the sulu sea, where, long before the existence of nation-states and before the buzzword “globalization” came to everyone’s lips, it was already being actualized by our forefathers, who engaged in largely borderless commerce and free trading in their native sailboats.
IMPROVED PHILIPPINE-MALAYSIAN RELATIONS
Over the last few years, the Philippines and Malaysia have gotten to know each other much more than they have in the last three decades. And I believe our relations have only been strengthened by our willingness to resolve — together — whatever questions may have come between us.

Since early 1993, Prime Minister Mahathir and I have visited each other’s country several times — and perhaps soon we will lose count of just how many times we have traveled to each other’s land.

Our ministers and businessmen have also become frequent visitors to each other’s neighborhood, even as we Filipinos have become increasingly familiar with Malaysian brothers and their business interests.

We also express our appreciation for the interest our Malaysian colleagues have shown in investing in Mindanao, which is our front door to Southeast Asia, and which we are converting to an ever-expanding polygon of opportunity for Filipinos and foreign friends alike.

From a larger perspective, the creation of this council also indicates the significance that the private sector has acquired in the context of national and regional development.

Governments have done — and can still do — quite a lot of things. But the private sector has the expertise, experience and resources that can further be tapped as long as governments provide the right policy environment, especially at a time when businesses extend beyond national borders.

The elements that will best allow business to do business, as well the private sector’s assessment of prospects for the Asia-Pacific, have been spelled out by the APEC Business Forum, which is a special event at this year’s APEC meetings.

The ABF, chaired by our former Secretary of Foreign Affairs Roberto (Bobby) Romulo, has been able to bring together chief executive officers and other big players to discuss ideas, trends, and projects in APEC. I take it that new business partnerships have been put in place through the ABF initiative in the course of the last 72 hours.
THE APEC AGENDA
The day after tomorrow, the 18 leaders of APEC will meet in Subic Bay Free Port for our fourth meeting. This year’s APEC Leaders’ Summit comes at an important juncture — after the APEC vision for free trade and investment was broadcast to the world and the APEC process had gained substantial momentum.

It was at the very first leaders’ summit in Blake Island, Seattle, in 1993 when the APEC vision of a community of Asia-Pacific economies took shape.

At our second meeting in Bogor, Indonesia, the following year, APEC leaders set the goal for a free and open trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific by 2010 for the developed member-economies and 2020 for developing economies.

The third summit, held in Osaka in 1995, saw the economic leaders of APEC lay down the framework for fulfilling the milestones of the Bogor Declaration and agreed on the manner and timetable for the achievement of free and open trade and investments.

The biggest challenge to the leaders at this year’s summit and to the Philippines, as chair and host, is to effect a further advance and establish another landmark by rallying the 18 APEC partners into putting flesh to its vision, objectives and agenda.

In Subic, we will be crafting a blueprint for furthering trade and investment liberalization and facilitation and economic and technical cooperation in our Asia-Pacific region.

This chart to the future is called MAPA ’96, or the Manila Action Plan for APEC 1996, toward which APEC’s member-economies have voluntarily contributed their inputs and which will serve as APEC’s road map into the 21st century. Quite aptly, mapa in Filipino, in Spanish and in common APEC usage means “map”.
DEALING WITH GLOBALIZATION
But while we seek to push further the process for opening up our economies, we realize that globalization is as much a challenge as an opportunity — a challenge that we can meet if we understand and prepare for its consequences, some of which may be difficult to deal with at first.

While globalization has leveled barriers to trade, technology transfer, capital movements and the flow of people and ideas, it also poses profound questions about how ordinary people train, work, compete and benefit.

As nation-states have been compelled to rethink their idea of “sovereignty” and of “national interest”, warnings have been raised about the dangers of homogenization of culture. As economies adjust to increased competition, many people may be displaced initially, and the issues of environmental protection and of people’ safety nets and adjustment measures must be seriously addressed.

The universal concerns related to sustainable development — so clearly articulated by Prime Minister Mahathir at the Rio Earth Summit of 1992 — must likewise be kept within our sights. For our part in the Philippines, the policy of people empowerment which leads to total human development is a national goal for both the immediate and long-term.

These challenges are not insurmountable and should certainly not hold us back from what makes sound economic sense. But again, they are vital components to be factored into our preparations for adjusting to globalization.

We cannot afford to be distracted from our overriding objective of economic growth as a means of achieving the improvement of the quality of life and social equity for our peoples.

This is where cooperation becomes imperative, cooperation of the kind that Malaysia and the Philippines have rediscovered, forged and strengthened in recent years. This council we launch today is yet another supporting pillar of that mutually strengthened kinship.

Thank you and “mabuhay!”