MANILA: “Mabuhay Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India” — Long Live Prime Minister Modi — caption writ large on the advertisements carried in a number of newspapers here on Monday – welcoming Mr Modi to the Philippines.
The Indian Information Technology and Business Process Management Industry in the Philippines extends warm welcome to Mr Modi, read another line. In a full-page ad, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce of the Philippines also extended warm greetings to Mr Modi and said, “We are honoured and truly elated that the good Prime Minister has visited us at this special time in the history of both India and the Philippines”.
The missive further said, “We believe that we are now at a time in our history where both India and the Philippines are led by visionaries that have the very best interest of the countries they serve”. “….There is no better time for both India and the Philippines to take the leap of all leaps and come together and improve not only bilateral trade relations with each other but also people to people interaction,” the advertisement read. The FICCI (Philippines) said, “Our chamber is ready, willing and able to lead the Philippine business sector in supporting the leap and ready to work with both governments to make this happen immediately”.
Prime Minister Modi is scheduled to address a high-profile ASEAN Business Summit in the afternoon. The meet and deliberations of leaders of 16-member Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) are also expected to go a long way into strengthening economic partnerships and is likely to take initiatives at reducing non-tariff barriers.
The RCEP in effect comprises of 10-member ASEAN members and also and six other countries — India, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. Officials of 16 member group met here at the margins ASEAN Summit on Sunday, a source in the Union Commerce ministry said. According to Preeti Saran, Secretary East, in the Ministry of External Affairs, “The ASEAN region, along with India, comprises combined population of 1.85 billion people, which is one fourth of the global population and a combined GDP of over $ 3.8 trillion, creating one of the largest economic spaces in the world”.
Mr Modi is the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Philippines since Late Indira Gandhi visited last in 1981. ”Investment from ASEAN in the last 17 years has been over $ 70 billion accounting for more than 17 per cent of our total FDI and Indian investment in ASEAN during the same period has been more than $ 40 billion,” a Ministry source said.
In Philippines, experts are also optimistic about the outcome of the ASEAN Business Summit – and other such meetings. “If in the past two centuries, the world was dominated by the Atlantic/European countries, this century will be for the Asia Pacific. Forecasts show that by the year 2050, Asia could raise its per capita income by six times, catching up to Europe’s level today,” says Filipino architect Felino A Palafox, Jr. (AGENCIES)
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