President Aquino: “Harness the Strengths of All our Peoples”
Committing to APEC’s priorities, Philippine President Benigno S. Aquino III said that the most critical element of sustainable growth is inclusivity.
Speaking to the region’s business leaders in Manila on Monday, President Aquino shared the growth story of the Philippines and how it can be applied to regional growth.
"We will have important conversations about how we can free our people from the oppression of poverty, and how to empower them to take part in sustainable economic growth," said President Aquino.
The President described how the Philippines’ growth strategy hinges on empowerment for people to participate in the growing economy.
“We invested in upgrading our educational infrastructure,” explained President Aquino. “We reformed our basic education cycle to conform to global standards, and to give our children ample time to digest their lessons and maximize their learning.”
"Indeed, our entire growth strategy hinges on the idea of empowerment,” he continued. “Empowered citizens, after all, are empowered consumers, whose income will go to the goods and services produced by companies,”
“The end result: Instead of having many big fish in a small pond, we are moving our economic ecosystem into a bigger pond, where everybody can grow and reach their full potential."
President Aquino reported the initial results of an assessment of social welfare and development in the Philippines, revealing some 5.45 million Filipinos who have been lifted from poverty.
"Our economy has become one of the fastest growing in the world and we have quickly risen in global measures of competitiveness," he said.
APEC Economic Leaders will meet in Manila on Wednesday and Thursday this week under the banner of building inclusive economies for a better world.
“We can do this on a regional scale; I believe if we work with each other’s economies, and if we harness the strengths of all our peoples, we can give rise not only to inclusive economies, but to an Asia-Pacific where our citizens truly know what we talk about when we say growth,” maintained President Aquino.
“I am confident we can author the next great chapter in the history of human civilization; as a connected, synergized Asia-Pacific, we can bring about the advent of a region — and a world — where no one is left behind.”
# # #
Ten things to know about the 2015 APEC Economic Leaders’ Week are described at this link.
Details on meetings and events during the 2015 APEC Economic Leaders’ Week can be found at this link.
View live streaming of APEC Economic Leaders’ Week meetings, events and programs at this link.
For further details, please contact:
Ma. Lizbeth S. B. Edra (in Manila) +65 9452 8344 at [email protected]
Michael Chapnick (in Manila) +65 9647 4847 at [email protected]
More on APEC meetings, events, projects and publications can be found on www.apec.org. You can also follow APEC on Twitter and join us on Facebook and LinkedIn.