WELCOME STATEMENT
Excellencies; members of the Asia-Pacific Business Advisory Council; members of the press: once more, welcome to the Philippines!

I am pleased to announce these proceedings are being carried — live — via the new Philippine Agila-1 (Eagle-1) satellite.

This is the first Philippine satellite — owned and operated by the Mabuhay Philippines satellite corporation, cooperatively with Indonesia’s Pasifik Satelit Nusantara, and China’s Everbright group.

Agila-1’s coverage includes several APEC economies — the ASEAN states, China, India and Australia.

The next Agila system will cover most of the Asia-Pacific — up to Hawaii, Japan, and Korea.

Your presence, excellencies, makes this inauguration of our first communications-satellite especially memorable.
A MILESTONE IN APEC’S LIFE
APEC today marks a milestone — as it begins translating the vision, goal, and action agenda shaped at Seattle, Bogor, and Osaka into an action program.
Let me call on the chairman of the APEC Ministerial Meeting, who will present the manila action plan for APEC 1996 (MAPA 96).

This document embodies our individual and collective initiatives — the first steps in a continuous process of liberalization, facilitation, and economic and technology cooperation that will lead to free and open trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific by 2010 and 2020.
INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT FOR THE DIALOGUE
Thank you, Secretary Siazon and Secretary Bautista.

This year’s APEC is significant also for inviting the participation of the private sector.

Making APEC a reality for business is an integral part of the MAPA 96.

Let me us now begin the first dialogue between the APEC Economic Leaders and representatives of the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC).

I hope this dialogue becomes a regular feature of the APEC process.

ABAC’s recommendations to the economic leaders were formally submitted to the APEC chair on 24 October.

These recommendations are the subject of this dialogue.

I should first say that, when I received these recommendations on behalf of the economic leaders, I responded in a supportive way.

I accepted immediately — on behalf of the Philippines — two recommendations which did not require a simultaneous start by all our economies.

These are the ABAC recommendations to establish an APEC business visa, to facilitate business travel; and to hold public- and private- sector infrastructure roundtables to foster the partnership of governments and business in building of the overhead capital of this region.

ABAC needs a friend and advocate in APEC’s court. Most appropriately, that advocate should be the APEC chair for the year.

I hope this year sets a precedent for that also.
CLOSING STATEMENT AT END OF DIALOGUE
On that note we end this dialogue.

On behalf of the economic leaders, let me thank all you gentlemen of ABAC for your time and effort.

It now remains for us — the economic leaders of APEC — to give your recommendations the careful consideration they deserve.

Thank you and mabuhay!/best wishes!!