HAINAN, China—President Rodrigo Duterte’s attendance to the Boao Forum for Asia will be an opportunity for him to highlight the country’s economic achievements and priorities, particularly in business and economics, Philippine Ambassador to China Jose Santiago Sta. Romana said on Monday, April 9.
Sta. Romana said in an interview here with the Philippine media that aside from Chinese President Xi Jinping, Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi will also be present during the forum. Singapore is the current chair of the ASEAN.
Mongolian Prime Minister Ukhnaa Khurelsukh will also attend the forum as well as representatives from Europe.
Other top attendees include UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and IMF managing director Christine Lagarde.
“So as you could see, it’s gonna be a gathering of top leaders and I think it’s quite a privilege for President Duterte to be invited here and to be able to use this platform to highlight the remarkable progress that has been achieved in the Philippines and as well as to explain his economic priorities,” he said.
These priorities include the infrastructure program by the Duterte administration.
It will also be an opportunity for President Duterte to exchange experiences and best practices with China, with other Asian countries, as well as with the UN and IMF, he noted.
Former President Ramos was one of the proponents of the Boao Forum for Asia. The forum became a platform for major leaders in Asia as well as businessmen and academicians to come together to discuss Asia’s economic problems, challenges and prospects.
“In a sense, it was like an answer to the Davos Conference in the west, you know. Why not have one for Asia and they chose this island of Hainan, this fishing village of Boao, that’s how it became chosen and was… It grew over the years, over the decades actually,” he said.-PND
