First
Things First
By Francisco
S. Tatad
Brussels—Without
creating any illusion that the Eurozone crisis is over, the award of
the Nobel Peace Prize to the European Union has lifted the spirit of
so many Europeans and made them feel they were all Nobel Prize
winners. Nowhere is this perhaps more evident than in the European
Development Days here in Brussels where several African presidents
and Philippine Vice President Jejomar C. Binay have converged to
congratulate the EU on the Prize and to discuss development
cooperation with the European leaders.
The
European Development Days is Europe’s premier forum on
international affairs and development cooperation. Established in
2006, its seventh forum took place amidst the still-virulent Eurozone
crisis centered on the unrelieved Greek and Spanish debt problems. In
singling out Europe as a force for reconciliation and peace, the
Prize created no distraction from the crisis, but took the wind away
from the sail of those who say the crisis can be solved only by
getting rid of the euro and Europe itself as a political institution.
It
provides an added argument for Europe’s continued existence.
At
this week’s EDD, which coincided with World Food Day and the day
focused on the eradication of poverty, President Jose Manuel Barroso
of the European Commission declared that despite its failure to tame
the crisis, Europe remains a strong and committed development partner
to the developing countries, and will not turn its back on them. This
was seconded by President Dimitris Christofias of Cyprus, the
rotating president of the Council of the European Union, and welcomed
by the president of Benin and acting president of the African Union,
Thomas Boni Yayi of Benin, President Armando Emilio Guebuza of
Mozambique, President Macky Sall of Senegal, President Joyce Banda of
Malawi, and President Ali Bongo Ondimba of Gabon, who all described
the EU-assisted programs in their respective countries.
Yet
it was Binay, speaking for President Benigno Aquino III, and the lone
Asian leader in the company of so many African presidents, who
provided the most eloquent response to Barroso’s statement. After
citing the EU’s contribution to the Philippine programs, he assured
the EU that “whatever challenges we may have to face separately or
together between now and in the future, we shall never abandon our
faith in Europe.” I thought I saw one European official wipe a
misty eye after these words were spoken.
In
his well-applauded address, Binay told the assembly that amidst the
continuing global crisis, the brightest spots in the global economy
were to be found in the developing countries. The World Bank itself
projects that growth in those countries, while slowing to 5.3 percent
in 2012, will strengthen to 5.9 percent in 2013 and to 6.1 percent in
2014.
Binay
impressed his audience with his report on the Philippines under
Aquino’s leadership. “We are now, according to HSBC, the 44th
largest economy in the world,” he began. “Our gross domestic
product grew by 6.4 percent in the first quarter of this year, and is
on track to keep that pace throughout 2012. Our growth rates have
outperformed all economies in the region with the exception of China.
Our gross international reserves of $70 billion now exceed our total
foreign debt, and this has allowed us to commit $1 billion to the
International Monetary Fund to help some troubled economies.
“Since
the Aquino administration took office in 2010, we have pushed the
shadow of official corruption decisively to the past. We have since
received two credit ratings upgrades from the most reputable
institutions, and are now one notch away from investment grade
status. In a world economy that must contend with the rapid and
irreversible ageing of the population, and serious problems of
generational replacement in many developed countries, our young and
robust English-speaking workforce helps to make the Philippines an
attractive investment destination and manufacturing center as well as
a reliable supplier of migrant labor for highly industrialized
countries.
The
acting president of the African Union made the same point by saying
that by 2050, Africa will have the biggest young population as ageing
afflicts the rest of the world. This is how the future will be built.
Binay
spoke of the newly concluded agreement between the government and the
Moro Islamic Liberation Front as the fruit of “our earnest desire
to eradicate social injustice and inequality and make human
development the main driving force and central motive of our peace
and reconciliation efforts with the various parties in armed conflict
with the State.”
Encouraged
by this breakthrough, we hope we could soon finalize our next peace
agreement with the Communist Party of the Philippines and its
military arm, and the National Democratic Front, he said. The
dividend we derive from this peace effort should enhance our
prospects in transforming the nation’s economic and social fabric,
consistent with our people’s shared ambitions for themselves, he
added.
Binay’s
successful participation in the EDD debates opened the door to
further successful meetings with high EU officials on specific
development projects, air transport issues, and humanitarian aid.
From Brussels, he proceeds to Rome to lead the official Philippine
delegation as the President’s representative at this weekend’s
canonization rites of the Filipino martyr, Blessed Pedro Calungsod.
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