MANILA (Mindanao Examiner / May 22, 2014) – Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Myanmar Vice President U Nyan Tun arrived in the Philippines for the 23rd World Economic Forum on East Asia in Makati City on Thursday.
President Yudhoyono was accompanied by Indonesia’s First Lady Ani Bambang Yudhoyono and his delegation.
He was welcomed by Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario, Education Secretary Armin Luistro, Mindanao Development Authority Secretary Luwalhati Antonino, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority Chairman Francis Tolentino, Philippine Ambassador to Indonesia Maria Rosario Aguinaldo, Pasay City Mayor Antonino Calixto, and Philippine Air Force Commanding General Lt. Gen. Jeffery Delgado.
Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung of Vietnam also arrived in Manila ahead of the Indonesian leader and Myanmar Vice President.
In his address during the opening of the World Economic Forum, Aquino said his reform measures have begun to bear fruit, making the country more attractive to foreign investors.
“It is evident that our country is in the midst of a dramatic turnaround in every sector, and we are intent on continuing this trend and making certain that each and every Filipino enjoys the full dividends of progress,” he said.
Aquino also cited United Nations population projections that by 2015 the Philippines will be hitting a “demographic sweet spot” that will last for the next 35 years. He said countries that experience such conditions would post an average yearly growth of 7.3% over the next 10 years.
He said the government is poised to take full advantage of the situation having made strategic investments in education and skills training to equip the country’s future workforce.“Good governance is good economics, and the results of our reforms on the economic end are proving us right,” he said.
In 2013, the Philippine economy grew by 7.2% making it one of the fastest growing countries in Asia.
Aquino noted the renewed perceptions of the international community towards the Philippines and that in the past year all three major credit ratings agencies gave the Philippines investment upgrades. And just recently, Standard & Poor’s gave the country another upgrade.
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