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PGMA's
Speech during a State Dinner in Honor of Visiting President and Mrs. S R Nathan of the
Republic of Singapore |
| His
Excellency President S. R. Nathan and Madame; President Ramos; Excellencies of the
Diplomatic Corps; Honorable Members of the Singaporean delegation; Speaker De Venecia;
Honorable Members of the House of Representatives; Members of the Cabinet; Members of the
Singaporean Business Delegation; Members of the Philippine business community;
distinguished guests; Ladies and Gentlemen. I'm honored to welcome to the Philippines an esteemed colleague, President S R Nathan, along with a very distinguished members of the Singapore delegation. Our discussions earlier in the evening attest to the multi-faceted ties between Singapore and the Philippines. Your excellency will see how Singapore investments are flourishing in the Philippines when he visits the Carmelpav Industrial Park this Thursday and Fort Bonifacio this Friday. We're likewise bringing our peoples closer to each other. The advent of budget airlines has significantly reduce the barriers to travel between our countries. Singapore's first world economy presents viable opportunities for thousands of Filipinos to further hone their experience and expertise. We see a significant demographic group contributing to the continued social, cultural and economic development of both Singapore and the Philippines. Beyond bilateral relations, Singapore and the Philippines also share a valued partnership particularly in ASEAN. And tonight, we are honored to have in his excellency one of the moving forces in the establishment of the ASEAN four decades ago in Bangkok. The Philippines and Singapore, as incumbent chair and incoming chair of ASEAN, now have the singular opportunity to move forward our common goal of an integrated ASEAN community. Excellency, thank you very much for the honor to be able to return the gracious hospitality you showed us when I made my state visit to Singapore in 2001. We're happy to have you here with us and we hope you will have a very fruitful stay. And now ladies and gentlemen, may I ask all of you to join me in a toast to the health and happiness of President and Madame Nathan, and to the friendship between our two countries. Mabuhay! |