CEBU, Philippines – “We must be resolute that our efforts to improve the lives of our people cannot be stifled by fears.”
This was the opening statement of Department of Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Laura del Rosario, chairperson of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Senior Officials’ Meeting, during the start of the Third Senior Official’s Meeting at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Cebu City yesterday.
Deputy ministers of 21 member economies of APEC participate in the meeting.
Del Rosario said time is of the essence, stressing the need to translate the plans and the result of APEC meetings to programs and structures that would address the needs and concerns of the APEC people.
“We must be willing to take risks and entertain new ideas which would provide solutions to economic policy gridlocks,” she said.
She said APEC member economies have been discussing problems of average citizens in the series of meetings in Cebu City.
These meetings tackle issues on health, economy, urbanization, disability issues, connectivity, public-private dialogue on water, and initiatives on inclusive growth, among others.
During the press briefing on Friday, Del Rosario told reporters of the three features that will help address the growth of an economy; institution building, social cohesion or social equity, and environment impact.
For the institution building, she said it includes not only to the visible infrastructures, but also the infrastructures that cannot be seen.
“In APEC, it’s not just about roads and buildings. We’re talking about infrastructure that you do not see. You do not see where the sewage goes, you do not see the sewerage underneath your land,” she said.
Del Rosario said an economy should also imbue social cohesion or social equity through quality education.
“We talk about social cohesion because we cannot move as a community or as a nation if others are left behind. And again, education comes there. So as much as possible, we want all of us to be properly prepared,” she said.
Environment impact, she said, includes quality infrastructure that can withstand tsunamis and earthquakes.
“And the city mayors also talked about culture and education and how it can improve the quality of life you know in a city and how a city can become better also if we have more green spaces, if we have public spaces. And how a city can become better if it becomes more accessible to transportation or commuting will become easier,” she said.
Del Rosario said APEC meetings also include bringing down the issues to the level of citizens.
“We hope that what we’re doing in APEC will really be building blocks towards finding solutions to what we face in the 21st century,” she added.
Del Rosario told deputy ministers of APEC member economies that trade between economies had been in existence even before globalization.
“This year, we will commemorate the 450th of the start of Manila-Acapulco galleon trade and 200 years of global trade had been in existence before people thought of globalization,” she said.
“We are now at the ultimate of our hosting for 2015 and the task at hand is ever clearer. It is also now time for us senior officials to once again roll up our sleeves and work to prepared way for our ministers and leaders and create a clear vision for the people of APEC. We hope that that vision would become for us the North Star to which our economies will work on inclusive growth,” she added. —/JMO (FREEMAN)