In her keynote address at the opening of the 13^th Nikkei Conference on the "Future of Asia" at the Peacock Room of the Imperial Hotel here this morning, the President said as an economist and the "leader of a nation of 85 million, I believe in the value of trade to alleviate poverty and free people to live a better life."

As the current chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) which marks its 40^th year of existence this year, she led the regional grouping’s call for the revival of the Doha Round during the 12^th Asean leaders summit held in Cebu City last January, the President pointed out.

"The Free Trade Agreement within Asean and China as well as the FTA between Asean and South Korea are moving into their final stages. It is now up to the Asean member countries to individually ratify these two FTAs," she added.

She expressed pride in Asean’s resiliency in the aftermath of the financial crisis that swept across the region 10 years ago, adding that instead of drifting apart, Asean has contributed to world peace, security and economic growth.

"Asean has kept the peace, expanded our economies and grown closer together to trade, diplomacy and cultural exchange," she said.

"Asean is the most tested, viable and mature entity at our disposal to propel our relatively smaller Asian nations to compete with China, India, the EU and the US. At the same time, for Asean to become a true expanding union, it must continue to nurture its relations with key partners – Japan, China and South Korea," the President said.

The President said the Philippine economy has racked up 25 successive quarters of economic growth that she attributed to her government’s "policy to aggressively engage the regional and global market place."

"And if we are to remember what those 25 quarters were, starting from 2001 up to now, 2007, we should recall that in some of those years," some of the neighboring economies were experiencing recessions but not the Philippines, she said.

The President said that as a windfall from the Philippines’ expanded relations with regional and global markets, the country’s "exports and imports are booming even as the peso strengthens. We had our best year ever in foreign direct investment and with our stock market not only in the last two days ago, not only did our stock market surpassed the pre-financial crisis level, it was the highest in the entire 80-year history of our stock exchange."

Six million new jobs have also been created as the Philippine economy continues to grow, she added.

The President stressed that while the Philippines and its regional partners want a successful global trade talk, "we will not just wait around. We aim to go full speed ahead in the Philippines and in Asia to strengthen our economic ties regardless of what Doha does or does not dream."

The Chief Executive underscored the need for Asean to look ahead 40 years from now, saying the region’s attention should not be focused on Asean at age 40, but also at age 80 from now when the population in the area would reach one billion.

"If today, we are the fastest growing region, in 40 years we will likely be a more mature, modest growth region. And if today, we are unsure of global security and the spread of upstart nations getting nuclear weapons, what will we see in 40 years?" she asked.

The President issued the remarks during her luncheon with Nikkei president and chief executive officer Ryoki Sugita and Japanese business leaders at the Matsu Room of the Imperial Hotel here, where she earlier delivered her keynote speech at the 13^th International Conference on "The Future of Asia."

"I thank Nikkei for inviting me once again to this prestigious forum. And I am very grateful to have a third opportunity to speak before the Nikkei Forum," the President said.

It was the third time that the President attended as keynote speaker of the conference. The first time was in 2002 and the second in 2003.

In her brief message before the start of the luncheon, the President thanked Nikkei officials and the Japanese business leaders for inviting her and her delegation from the Philippine business community.

Nikkei’s invitation, she noted, is a clear indication of an emerging closer ties between Filipino and Japanese business leaders.

"Indeed, I hope that with the combination of our program today and our lunch, we will be having a closer relationship between our countries, and our people, and the two business communities," the President told Sugita.

"Well, this is the third occasion, and you are right, Madam President. We hope you can come back again soon," Sugita replied.

Founded in 1876, Nikkei Inc. is the primary source of business information for top executives and decision-makers in Japan. Its flagship newspaper, the Nikkei Weekly, is the world’s largest-selling business daily, combining both incisive articles on economics, business, finance and politics with first-rate reporting on social affairs, cultural events and sports.

In her keynote speech at the 13^th Nikkei Conference on "The Future of Asia" held at the Peacock Room of the Imperial Hotel here this morning, the President said that at a time when world alliances on Iraq and the World Trade Organization (WTO) are experiencing strains, it’s important that new partnerships are formed to ensure global peace and stability.

She said the idea of an East Asian Community transcends geographical definition since some of its proposed members, including Russia, India and South Korea, are not part of East Asia. The concept, she added, stemmed from the common view that "economic engagement is a more compelling criterion in the minds of our Asian brothers than a geographical location."

The President said the an East Asian Community would be a bold step toward forging new alliances to keep the world strong and stable, noting that while the European Union was historically beset by conflict, it is now a "force for peace and security."

"The same way in our region that has faced many of the same historic divisions, a more united region" would also emerge as a force of security and peace, she added.

She pointed out that it took EU 50 years to attain its current stage of integration. "We believe our diversity is a strength, not a barrier to an Asian union that we learned from Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations."

The President said that an East Asian Community is "made especially important because of the emergence of China." But she quickly pointed out that the Philippines and Asean do not view China as a threat, but rather an opportunity. "Asean’s relations, the Philippines relations with China are now more confident, mature and comprehensive," she added.

The Chief Executive said Asean’s relations with China, along with South Korea and Japan, have deepened on a number of areas, notably trade and investments, and "we have faith that relations among them will continue to warm."

The President also underscored the importance of the relationship between China and Japan for regional stability in Asia, as she welcomed the increasingly warm ties between the two Asia economic giants.