ADB: A reliable development partner
The Philippines is greatly honored to host the 51st annual meeting of the Board of Governors of the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Over the last five decades, the ADB played an important role in assisting the emerging economies of the AsiaPacific. Those emerging economies now constitute the center of gravity of the global economy. The region is home to the world’s most populous and fastestgrowing economies.
Today, we are in the midst of rapid, technology-driven change. New technologies are often disruptive. There is peril as well as opportunity in that.
The peril lies in the potential for the technological revolution to overwhelm the institutions by which our societies are governed and our development defined. The opportunity lies in drastically improving productivity, leap-frogging old development patterns and achieving a better life for our people.
The challenge is for our governments and multilateral development institutions to rapidly reinvent themselves. We need to master as well as adapt to dramatic technological innovation so that we create the inclusive development we wish for our people.
The theme for this 51st annual meeting is “Linking People and Economies for Inclusive Development.” That perfectly captures the challenge of this moment. The economies of this region need to build new channels of cooperation, enhancing complementarities and facilitating exchange. This is a time for building bridges, not walls, so that each of us may become the best we can be. This is a time for sharing best practices and establishing common benchmarks.
As a key nexus for development initiatives in the region, the ADB must constantly rethink its vision and reinvent its programs in the face of rapid transformation. It must be a center of knowledge as we come to grips with the dimensions of the technology-driven revolution. It must be a ready forum for deliberating the trajectory of change.
The Philippines is a founding member of the ADB. We hosted the Bank’s headquarters from its establishment half a century ago. We benefited much from our partnership with this unique institution. Over the years, the ADB has been one of our major sources of official development assistance. The Bank financed some of our most strategic development projects. We are grateful for all the support this institution extended.
The country is proud of what we achieved with the help of our development partners. For nearly two decades running, the Philippines posted sustained quarteron-quarter growth. With our most recent credit rating upgrade, the country is now the most upgraded sovereign in the past decade.
Last year, our GDP grew by 6.7 percent, making the Philippines one of the fastest growing economies in the world. With continuing fiscal reforms, an aggressive infrastructure investment program and the growing momentum of regionalization, we expect to grow our economy at an even faster rate into the foreseeable future.
The annual meeting’s theme fits perfectly with the general growth strategy of the Duterte administration. The aggressive infrastructure investment program, with its high multiplier effect, will stimulate economic activity, create jobs and support enterprises. It will link every island and every community to the mainstream of national wealth creation. It will encourage new businesses and invite new ventures.
We see the revolution in digital technologies as an ally of this growth strategy. It improves the efficiency of all transactions and allows us to deepen financial inclusion. It makes governance more transparent and more accessible. It broadens participation in every field of activity.
The end goals of this administration’s economic strategy are all fully measurable. We seek to sustain a growth rate of seven percent or better for the next five years. We expect to bring down poverty incidence to only 14 percent by 2022. We aspire to bring down the unemployment rate to less than 4 percent by the end of President Duterte’s term.
The ADB has proven a strong and reliable partner in our development effort. The Bank supports the infrastructure program fully and finance projects that will establish growth corridors especially in the island of Mindanao. This yields early results. Some of the low-growth provinces in Mindanao are now growth leaders.
We look forward to a continuation of the beneficial partnership with the ADB.
Meanwhile, we exert every effort to ensure that this year’s annual meetings will be as pleasant and productive as they possibly can. That is the least we can do for a dear friend of Philippine development.
The annual meeting's theme fits perfectly with the general growth strategy of the Duterte administration. The aggressive infrastructure investment program, with its high multiplier effect, will stimulate economic activity, create jobs and support enterprises.