Duterte: Asean can be Apec’s ‘pathfinder’ for success

PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte, who chairs the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) this year, has expressed confidence that the regional bloc can serve as “pathfinder” for Asia-Pacific Economic Region’s (Apec) further progress.

During the Apec informal dialogue with Southeast Asian leaders, Duterte touted that the 10-man regional alliance had paved the way for Apec’s “eventual” success in pivoting on trade liberalization.

He, thus, believed that Asean can help promote Apec’s objective to ramp up its drive to spur economic growth within the region.

“Collaborating with Apec on common areas of interest, Asean can potentially play the role of a regional pathfinder for Apec’s initiatives,” Duterte said.

“Asean can also serve as Apec’s institutional memory and provide consistency to Apec’s role as an incubator of ideas and driver of regional economic growth and integration,” he added.

Duterte likewise said that Asean can be a “hub” for Asia-Pacific region in relevant areas, which include digital and maritime connectivity; efficient logistics; disaster preparedness and management; technology; micro, small, and medium enterprises; and inclusive growth.

He said Asean, as an “integrated” bloc, “is a good place to start” since it has shown exemplary performance to excel in various fields.

Duterte said Asean and Apec’s improved collaboration was also significant for possible strategic partnerships with different international organizations.

He noted this could be possible because the AsiaPacific region is “an incubator of ideas and acts through voluntary commitments and initiatives,” while the Southeast Asian bloc “builds a political, economic, and social community through negotiated norms and binding agreements.”

“I can see how such coalitions on shared goals can be adopted or enhanced first in an integrated Asean who work in community-building is fairly developed,” Duterte said.

“The common interests of Apec and Asean means that we can take ideas one step further to give birth to collaborative models using hard infrastructure,” he added. SunStar Philippines