JAKARTA, 18 February 2021 – Ambassador Noel Servigon, Permanent Representative of the Philippines to ASEAN, delivered opening remarks at a virtual forum on the ASEAN Economic Recovery and Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

In his remarks, Ambassador Servigon highlighted that in the midst of the pandemic, ASEAN launched a number of key initiatives such as the ASEAN Comprehensive Recovery Framework, the signing of the RCEP, and an ASEAN Travel Corridor Framework. These initiatives demonstrated the political will of ASEAN Member States in responding to a shared crisis. He stressed that “Global solidarity is needed more than ever for us to come out of this pandemic.”

Deputy Secretary-General for the ASEAN Economic Community, Dr. Aladdin D. Rillo, delivered the keynote speech. In his remarks, Dr. Rillo expounded on the ASEAN Comprehensive Recovery Framework and highlighted the importance of collaboration between governments and the private sector in supporting the region’s economic recovery by restoring business confidence and market stability, developing innovative solutions to tackle the impacts of the pandemic, strengthening supply chain efficiency, and the procurement of medical supplies and distribution of vaccines, among others.

Dr. Rillo further discussed how the RCEP was developed to go beyond existing ASEAN +1 Free Trade Area agreements in terms of the coverage and depth of the commitments, while taking into account emerging trends to ensure that the agreement would be modern, comprehensive, high-quality, and mutually beneficial. He also shared the significance of the RCEP in providing opportunities to accelerate the economic recovery of the region.

The forum was organized by the Permanent Mission of the Philippines to ASEAN together with the Philippine Business Club Indonesia (PBCI) headed by its Chairman, Mr. Antonio Capati, who delivered the welcome remarks.

Over 50 participants from the Filipino community and PBCI joined the forum which discussed the prospects for the region’s economic recovery and how ASEAN is contributing to reach this goal.

The Permanent Mission of the Philippines to ASEAN participates in and conducts outreach activities intended to promote and raise awareness on the significance of ASEAN, especially the Filipino community. The PBCI is one of the partners of the Permanent Mission of the Philippines. END.