President S R Nathan’s Address at the State Dinner for Republic of Philippines President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo

Your Excellency, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
Excellencies
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen

1.      It gives me great pleasure, Madame President, to welcome you back to Singapore. My wife and I recall with much fondness your inaugural State Visit to Singapore in August 2001 and our visit four months ago to the Philippines, where we were accorded most gracious and warm hospitality by you and First Gentleman Mike Arroyo in Malacanang. During our stay in your beautiful country, we saw the transformation and vibrancy of Manila and recall vividly our conversation about your plans to reinvigorate the Philippines’ economy.  

2.      I must congratulate you on your efforts to reinvigorate the state of the Philippine economy, which saw a healthy 7% growth in the first quarter of this year. The Philippine stock market is at a 10-year high and the peso is now at its strongest against the US dollar since 2002. FDI into the Philippines is also on the increase.  Your resolve to move the economy forward by focusing on fiscal discipline and infrastructure development and, in your own words, building “human infrastructure” through healthcare and education reforms will give greater impetus to this trend of growth that your country is experiencing. The Philippines is now on the investment radar screen of many countries.  

3.      I also welcome the business delegation you have brought with you to meet our Singapore business community. Last year, our bilateral trade amounted to a record high of S$17 billion. There is certainly potential for further expansion of trade between our two countries. While we, as governments, can and should provide the impetus for this to happen, it will be our business communities that will take this forward.

Madame President

4.      Our historical links go back a long time. Singapore was the first foreign soil that Philippine national hero Dr Jose Rizal stepped on. In May 1882, Dr Rizal stopped in Singapore on his way to Spain to study medicine. He was to make several more stops in Singapore on his overseas trips. Another Philippine hero who visited Singapore more than a century ago was General Emilio Aguinaldo. After General Aguinaldo led a revolution against Spain, he was exiled to Hong Kong. From Hong Kong, he travelled to Singapore where he met the US Consul at a house on River Valley Road and also at the Raffles Hotel to discuss and secure US support for the Philippines. On 12 June 1898, General Aguinaldo proclaimed the Philippines’ independence from Spain. This exchange of visits by our leaders have continued until recent times.

5.      It is not only in the bilateral arena that our two countries have forged a close partnership. As two of the Founding Members of ASEAN, Singapore and the Philippines have worked well together to bring the organisation to where it is today. During ASEAN’s formative years, Singapore and Philippines cooperated closely together with the rest of ASEAN on many foundational political agreements, such as the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia and the Bali Concord, to name a few.  

6.      In ASEAN’s more recent history, Singapore had initiated the idea of an ASEAN Economic Community, while it was the Philippines’ brainchild to develop the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community.  The two pillars, together with a third – the ASEAN Security Community, form the ASEAN Community which in turn will seek to ensure durable peace, stability and shared prosperity in the region.

Madame President

7.      2007 is a special year for ASEAN.  It is our 40th anniversary.  We have had our fair share of growing pains over the years, but we have also displayed our solidarity when situations demanded. We have evolved and grown as a regional organisation. Our two countries have remained firm in the belief that ASEAN must be well-integrated and economically competitive, if we are to build ourselves as “One Sharing and Caring Community”.   However, much remains to be done.

8.      The ASEAN Charter will be a key element in such ASEAN’s efforts. Earlier this year in Cebu, under your able leadership, ASEAN leaders had endorsed the report of the Eminent Persons’ Group on the ASEAN Charter. The landmark Cebu Declaration sets out the Blueprint for the ASEAN Charter, which will strengthen the institutions of ASEAN and define its long-term goals.   

Madame President

9.      As the next Chair of ASEAN, Singapore was provided a good foundation on which to build on the significant achievements of the Cebu Summit. Together with the Philippines and our other ASEAN members, Singapore will endeavour to have the ASEAN Charter concluded and endorsed by the leaders at the Singapore Summit this November. That will be a fitting commemoration of ASEAN’s 40th anniversary and the healthy road it has travelled since its founding. Singapore will also work to strengthen ASEAN-wide cooperation and build regional capacity to address the mounting transborder challenges, particularly on critical issues such as energy security, environmental pollution and pandemic diseases.

10.      In conclusion, I like to assure you, Madame President, that Singapore looks forward to working closely with the Philippines to strengthen ASEAN’s linkages with its dialogue partners and friends outsides the region. Together we must ensure that the overall regional architecture in East Asia remains open and inclusive. ASEAN, APEC, EAS and the ARF are all important and complementary elements of this emerging regional architecture. ASEAN should leverage on all these regional forums to help ensure a peaceful and stable environment in which we can grow and prosper.

11.      On that note, may I invite all present to rise and join me in a toast:

        • To the good health and success of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo;
        • To the peace and prosperity of the Philippines; and  
        • To the friendship between the Philippines and Singapore.