PGMA's Speech during a Lecture at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS

PGMA's Speech during a Lecture at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS)

IISS, Arundel House, Arundel St., Temple Place, London, U.K. (28 Jan 2002)

HIS EXCELLENCY AMBASSADOR BAUTISTA; HER MAJESTY'S AMBASSADOR TO THE PHILIPPINES, AMBASSADOR COLLINS; EXCELLENCIES, MEMBERS OF THE DIPLOMATIC CORPS; OFFICIALS OF HER MAJESTY'S FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH OFFICE; OFFICIALS OF THE PHILIPPINE DELEGATION; OTHER DISTINGUISHED GUESTS; LADIES AND GENTLEMEN:

I AM DELIGHTED TO HAVE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO ADDRESS THE INSTITUTE OF STRATEGIC STUDIES DURING MY ONE DAY VISIT TO LONDON.

THE EVENTS OF SEPTEMBER 11, 2001 ARE NOW SEARED IN OUR MIND AS THE INCARNATION OF HORROR AND TRAGEDY.

AS A CITIZEN OF THE DEVELOPING WORLD AND AS PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES, I CAN PERHAPS SPEAK WITH SOME INTIMACY OF THE CHALLENGE AND THE OPPORTUNITY BEFORE US AS A RESULT OF SEPTEMBER 11.

LONG BEFORE SEPTEMBER 11, THE PHILIPPINES FOUGHT TERRORISM ON ITS SOIL AND GAINED THE UPPER HAND, ISOLATING TERRORISM INSURGENTS TO A FEW SMALL ISLANDS. WE HAVE FELT THE PAIN OF TERRORISM FIRST HAND AND KNEW IT MUST NOT SPREAD TO THE REST OF THE WORLD. THAT IS WHY WE WERE THE FIRST IN ASIA TO LEND OUR SUPPORT TO THE FIGHT AGAINST INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM.

THE PHILIPPINES AND BRITAIN STAND SHOULDER-TO-SHOULDER IN THE FIGHT AGAINST GLOBAL TERRORISM. PRIME MINISTER BLAIR HAS BEEN AN EXTRAORDINARY LEADER. HE HAS BROUGHT A STRONG, DECISIVE VOICE TO THE CAUSE AND GENUINE CONCERN AND SUBTLETY BROKERING THE MANY COMPLEXITIES OF THE COALITION.

AND AS FAR AS THE COALITION IS CONCERNED, INSTEAD OF BEING BLINDSIDED BY THE HORROR OF SEPTEMBER 11, THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY CONFRONTED TERRORISM DIRECTLY AND TOOK ITS FIGHT TO ITS CITADELS. IN PLACE OF FEAR AND HELPLESSNESS, THERE IS NOW CONFIDENCE THAT THE FIGHT CAN BE WON.

SUCCESS IN THE WAR AGAINST TERRORISM IS INEVITABLE. BUT IT IS ALSO LIKELY THAT THE COALITION NATIONS WHO GOT TOGETHER TO FIGHT TERRORISM CAN SLOWLY DRIFT AWAY. AND UNFORTUNATELY, POVERTY -- THE TWIN OF TERRORISM -- WILL LINGER. WE MUST NOT LET THAT HAPPEN. THAT IS WHY I EMBRACE THE FRESH THINKING OF PRIME MINISTER BLAIR TO SEIZE THE MOMENT AND KEEP OUR COALITION TOGETHER TO CREATE GLOBAL PROSPERITY.

IN THE UPLIFTING SIGHT OF AFGHAN WOMEN CRYING IN JOY OVER THEIR LIBERATION FROM THE CRUELTIES OF THE TALIBAN, WE SEE THE SHADOWS OF THE STRUGGLES TO COME IN MAKING AFGHANISTAN A VIABLE STATE AND WORKING ECONOMY.

MULTIPLY AFGHANISTAN'S SITUATION TO ABOUT ONE-FIFTH OF ALL HUMANITY, AND WE CAN IMAGINE THE SCALE OF THE CHALLENGE. ACCORDING TO THE WORLD BANK, "HALF THE DEVELOPING WORLD -- SOME TWO BILLION PEOPLE -- LIVE IN COUNTRIES THAT HAVE SEEN LITTLE GROWTH IN THE LAST TWO DECADES. AND EVEN IN THOSE DEVELOPING COUNTRIES THAT HAVE BEEN DOING RELATIVELY WELL, HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF PEOPLE ARE MARGINAL TO THE PROGRESS OF GROWTH. AS A RESULT, WELL OVER ONE BILLION PEOPLE, AROUND 20 PERCENT OF THE POPULATION OF THIS PLANET, LIVE ON LESS THAN ONE DOLLAR A DAY."

THIS 20 PERCENT ARE THE CONSTITUENCY TO WHOM TERRORISTS AND EXTREMISTS SING THEIR SIREN SONG -- WITH GREAT SUCCESS. THIS IS WHY SOME OF US ARE ANXIOUS THAT THE FLUSH OF MILITARY VICTORY IN AFGHANISTAN WILL NOT STOP AT THE EDGE OF THIS LARGER STRUGGLE AGAINST POVERTY.

YOUR CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUER, SIR GORDON BROWN, DESCRIBES THIS PHASE OF THE WAR AS THE STRUGGLE TO "WIN THE PEACE."

A NEW KIND OF WAR REQUIRES A NEW KIND OF PEACE. THE HALLMARKS OF ANY NEW GLOBAL ALLIANCE TO ALLEVIATE POVERTY MUST BE MARKET-DRIVEN, SOLVE A REAL HUMAN PROBLEM, AND DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY FROM THOSE NATIONS THAT BENEFIT. IT CANNOT BE THE SAME OLD FORMULA OF HANDOUTS TO THE HAVE-NOTS. RATHER, IT MUST BE A HAND-UP FOR THE SELF-RELIANT.

I CAN SPEAK ONLY FOR THE PHILIPPINES WHEN I SAY THAT WE PRIDE OURSELVES ON OUR NATIONAL SELF-RELIANCE AND OUR REGIONAL ASEAN UNITY IN ADDRESSING OUR PROBLEMS. BUT WE ALSO RECOGNIZE THAT WE HAVE MUCH TO LEARN AND GAIN FROM OUR DEVELOPED BROTHERS AND SISTERS.

WE HAVE PUT A FACE ON TERRORISTS, AND NOW WE MUST PUT A FACE ON THE POOR. WE WILL ELIMINATE TERRORISM AND WE MUST ELIMINATE POVERTY. IF WE DO NOT, THE BREEDING GROUND OF RESENTMENT WILL BEGIN AGAIN TO PLAGUE ANOTHER GENERATION.
AT THE DAWN OF THE 21st CENTURY, WE CANNOT GO ANOTHER GENERATION IN THE HISTORY OF MANKIND WITHOUT SLAYING THE DRAGON OF POVERTY. LEADERS OF ALL NATIONS, RICH AND POOR, MUST HARNESS THE POWER OF MODERN SOCIETY AND TECHNOLOGY TO ADVANCE THE QUALITY OF LIFE OF EVERY GLOBAL CITIZEN. WE CANNOT DO SO WITH STARS IN OUR EYES BUT WITH DETERMINATION IN OUR HEARTS.

AS THE MILITARY EFFORT AGAINST TERRORISM COMES TO A CONCLUSION IN THE PHILIPPINES, WE WILL BE FREE TO TURN OUR SIGHTS TO ANOTHER FORM OF TERROR, AS I SAID, POVERTY. AND AGAIN, PRIME MINISTER BLAIR IS LEADING THE WAY WITH FRESH NEW THINKING ON THIS AGE OLD PLAGUE.

THE PRIME MINISTER KNOWS THAT TERRORISM WILL NEVER COMPLETELY GO AWAY IN THE PHILIPPINES OR OTHER POOR COUNTRIES UNLESS WE ROOT OUT THE HANDMAIDEN OF TERRORISM WHICH IS POVERTY. AND I APPLAUD THE PRIME MINISTER AND HIS GOVERNMENT FOR SEEKING TO TURN THE POWER OF THE GLOBAL ANTI-TERROR CAMPAIGN INTO A FORCE FOR GLOBAL PROSPERITY.

THE COURSE LAID OUT BY THE UNITED KINGDOM IS A POSITIVE AND COMMENDABLE STEP FORWARD. PRIME MINISTER BLAIR HAS ELOQUENTLY SPOKEN OF THE NEED TO BUILD IN THE THIRD WORLD "ENABLING STATES" FOR SUSTAINED GROWTH IN PLACE OF "FAILED STATES" FROM WHICH TERRORISM DRAWS SUSTENANCE. AND THIS HAS BEEN EXTENDED BY SIR GORDON BROWN'S BOLD, NEW PLAN FOR "A GLOBAL ALLIANCE FOR PROSPERITY BETWEEN DEVELOPING AND DEVELOPED WORLDS."

I HAVE COME TO LONDON TO DISCUSS WITH PRIME MINISTER BLAIR AND OTHER LEADERS HOW THIS VISION CAN BE TRANSFORMED INTO A PRACTICABLE INTERNATIONAL INITIATIVE FOR SPREADING PROSPERITY. PART OF THIS PROCESS IS RECONCILING THE CONCERNS OF DEVELOPING COUNTRIES WITH THE PERSPECTIVE OF DEVELOPED ECONOMIES.

IN MY VIEW, THIS AMBITIOUS AGENDA SHOULD AT LEAST INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING:

FIRST AND FOREMOST, THE AGENDA MUST ADDRESS WHAT HAS BEEN CALLED THE SILENT EMERGENCY IN THE WORLD TODAY -- THE PLIGHT OF THE POOREST OF THE POOR WHO LIVE ON THE EDGE OF FAMINE, DISEASE, ILLITERACY AND DESPAIR. DEVELOPED AND DEVELOPING NATIONS SHOULD MOUNT TOGETHER A CONCERTED EFFORT TO TURN THE SITUATION AROUND. THE HUMANITARIAN EFFORT NOW BEING CARRIED OUT IN AFGHANISTAN MUST BE REPLICATED IN MANY OTHER DISTRESSED AREAS.

SECOND, THE AGENDA MUST PROMOTE GREATER TRADE BETWEEN DEVELOPED AND DEVELOPING COUNTRIES THAT MUST BE USED FOR POVERTY REDUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT. TRADE LIBERALIZATION CAN MEAN BILLIONS OF DOLLARS TO POOR COUNTRIES, YET DEVELOPED COUNTRIES CONTINUE TO EXERCISE PROTECTIONISM. WE SHOULD NOW SEIZE THE NEW ROUND OF MULTILATERAL NEGOTIATIONS UNDER THE WTO AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE TRADE SERVE DEVELOPMENT.

THIRD, THE AGENDA MUST ENCOURAGE THE FLOW OF GREATER PRIVATE CAPITAL FROM THE DEVELOPED TO THE DEVELOPING COUNTRIES. FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT -- AND THE TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER IT BRINGS -- STIMULATES DEVELOPMENT IN POOR COUNTRIES. FOR THIS TO HAPPEN, DEVELOPING COUNTRIES MUST OPEN THEIR ECONOMIES TO FOREIGN INVESTMENT. IN TURN, FOREIGN COMPANIES AND CAPITAL MUST GET MORE ENGAGED IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES THAT UPGRADE THEIR POLICIES AND STANDARDS.

FOURTH, THE AGENDA SHOULD SUPPLEMENT DEBT RESTRUCTURING WITH AN INCREASED LEVEL OF FINANCIAL AID. THE PROPOSAL OF SIR GORDON BROWN FOR THE CREATION OF AN INVESTMENT FUND OF 50 BILLION DOLLARS A YEAR TO HELP BOOST DEVELOPING COUNTRIES SUSTAIN DEVELOPMENT WILL BE A GREAT BOOST.

FIFTH AND FINALLY, THE AGENDA MUST ACTIVELY SUPPORT INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY BUILDING IN THE DEVELOPING COUNTRIES TO IMPROVE GOVERNANCE, EMPOWER CIVIL SOCIETY, INCREASE TRANSPARENCY, AND INCREASE OPENNESS AND PLURALISM. WEAK ADMINISTRATIVE CAPACITY HOBBLES MANY POOR COUNTRIES. IT IS NOT AN ACCIDENT THAT TERRORISM THRIVES IN FAILED SOCIETIES -- COMMUNITIES WHERE GOVERNMENT HAS FAILED AND CITIZENS ARE ALIENATED.

I AGREE THAT FOR THIS NEW INITIATIVE TO SUCCEED, DEVELOPED AND DEVELOPING COUNTRIES ALIKE MUST ACCEPT NEW RESPONSIBILITIES TO GO WITH THE NEW OPPORTUNITIES. POOR COUNTRIES MUST MEET THE CHALLENGE OF ADOPTING STANDARDS OF TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY AND BUILDING MARKET ECONOMIES SO AS TO BECOME REAL PARTNERS IN INVESTMENT AND TRADE. THE ANSWER TO GLOBALIZATION IS TO GET PRODUCTIVELY ENGAGED IN THE WORLD ECONOMY, NOT TO WITHDRAW FROM IT.

IN TURN, DEVELOPED COUNTRIES MUST RECOGNIZE THEIR DUTY TO OPEN THEIR MARKETS, TRANSFER RESOURCES AND REFORM INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTIONS. IT IS A FACT THAT HOW RICH COUNTRIES MANAGE THEIR ECONOMIES DETERMINES STABILITY IN THE WORLD'S FINANCIAL SYSTEM AND THE AVAILABILITY OF RESOURCES FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF POOR COUNTRIES.

AND THE ENTIRE AGENDA WILL WORK ONLY IF INFUSED WITH A REAL SPIRIT OF COOPERATION. WE MUST BELIEVE THAT IN FREEING THE POOR FROM THE PRISON OF POVERTY, ALL NATIONS WILL REAP THE BOON OF A MORE TRANQUIL AND PEACEFUL WORLD.

IN MY LIFETIME, I WANT TO BE ABLE TO LOOK INTO THE EYES OF A YOUNG FILIPINO AND SEE A CONFIDENT GAZE, FREE FROM FEAR -- FREE FROM THE FEAR OF TERRORISM, FREE FROM THE FEAR OF POVERTY. AND FREE TO LIVE A LIFE OF DIGNITY AND PROSPERITY.

EVERYONE MUST APPRECIATE THAT OUR OBLIGATION TO OUR PEOPLE IN THE PHILIPPINES IS TO PUT FOOD ON THE TABLE FOR THE HUNGRY TODAY AND NOT MERELY PROMISE A BETTER LIFE TOMORROW. JUST AS WE SEARCH OUT AND DESTROY TERRORISM, WE MUST SEARCH OUT AND DESTROY THE TERROR OF POVERTY. THERE IS EVIL IN BEING HUNGRY JUST AS THERE IS EVIL IN BEING A DESTRUCTIVE TERRORIST. WE MUST WORK TOGETHER AS A FAMILY OF NATIONS TO ALLEVIATE BOTH.

TO SUM UP THEN, WE HAVE REASON TO CHEER THAT THE ONGOING WAR AGAINST TERRORISM IS MAKING SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS. BUT VICTORY IN THIS STRUGGLE DOES NOT DEPEND ONLY ON WINNING THE BATTLES OF THIS WAR. WE MUST ALSO WIN THE PEACE.

AND WINNING THE PEACE MEANS IN THE LAST ANALYSIS WINNING THE BATTLE FOR DEVELOPMENT. AS POPE JOHN PAUL II SAYS, "DEVELOPMENT IS THE OTHER NAME OF PEACE."

THE PEACE AND SECURITY WE SEEK IMPELS US TO CONFRONT THE CONDITIONS AND ALSO THE REASONS WHY TERRORISM CAN SO EASILY SPREAD.

WE KNOW THAT EVIL CAUSES TERRORISM BUT THE EVIL OF TERRORISM WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO SPREAD SO MUCH IF WE DID NOT HAVE SO MUCH POVERTY. AND SO IT IS IMPORTANT TO REALIZE THAT TERRORISM THRIVES WHENEVER THERE IS POVERTY AND MISERY.

BY EXTENDING OUR PRESENT COALITION FOR PEACE INTO A COALITION FOR PROSPERITY -- AND BY MOUNTING AN EARNEST PROGRAM FOR POVERTY ERADICATION AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT -- WE COULD IGNITE HOPE AND DYNAMISM AMONG THE POOR AS THEY HAVE NEVER KNOWN IN ALL OUR HISTORY.

AND WOULD IT NOT BE A GREAT IRONY, INDEED -- BUT A BEAUTIFUL IRONY -- IF THIS PERIOD WHICH TERRORISTS SOUGHT TO TURN INTO A TIME OF DESTRUCTION, BECOMES INSTEAD A TIME OF BUILDING AND RAISING ALL MANKIND TOWARDS PROGRESS.

THANK YOU.

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