VP NOLI CALLS FOR UNITY AMONG ASIA-PACIFIC BUSINESS COMMUNITIES
October 24, 2008

Vice President Noli 'Kabayan' De Castro has called on the various business communities in the Asia Pacific region to continue uniting in the fight against the global crisis.

Speaking during the 22nd conference of the Confederation of Asia-Pacific Chambers of Commerce and Industry (CACCI) at the Manila Hotel on Thursday (October 23), De Castro sought for more regional consultations, information sharing and joint projects among the members of the international business organization.

De Castro made the call as he expressed belief that it will take some time before the global economy recovers following the international measures that were taken up by the major countries.

"In the meantime that the West enters a period of weakness, we in the Asia-Pacific region have a lot of burden on our shoulders and that is to keep the engine of growth running. Let us therefore continue to work in unity," De Castro said.

In search for solutions, De Castro said the region has to think out of the box by preparing to question existing frameworks, revising existing models if needed, and look beyond the boundaries of present policy measures.

De Castro also suggested to look at the problems faced by the individual countries in the Asia-Pacific from the perspective of international cooperation and mutual support.

"It is nice to think that our economies can de-couple, so to speak, from the United States. But how do you de-couple from the entire global economy? We are in the same boat, so we better keep it afloat," he said.

Further, De Castro urged for the strengthening of linkages between government and the private sector by keeping communication lines open and being receptive to ideas from each other.

Here in the Philippines, De Castro said Filipinos believe that the global economic storm is serious. However, he said the country will definitely survive it.

"We just have to remain focused on our work and sustain the course of our economic reform program," De Castro said.

He said working together with the private sector is the strategy that the Philippines will continue to pursue to move on.

The vice president cited the PCCI-initiated proposal to set up a P100 billion fund from both the private and government financial institutions as the first major step towards such direction.

While the Philippines is economically confident, De Castro said it also has to be guarded since it may also feel global financial crisis it it remains unchecked.

"It is not enough that we remain stable. We know that if the global financial problems remain unchecked, the Philippines will, sooner or later, feel the illness too," he said.

home   |   Press Release main page   |