SPEECH AT THE OPENING CEREMONY

Victor O. Ramos

Dr.Song Jian, Council Chairman, the distinguished Vice-Chairs and members of this Council, the Secretary General, honorable local government officials and representatives, Ladies and gentlemen,

I feel deeply honored to be invited by the Council to attend the opening of your 5th meeting. I also thank the NEPA under the leadership of Administrator Xie Zhenhua for its invitation for me to visit Beijing, which allowed me to explore are as of cooperation with our counterpart agencies.

I have always felt welcome in China. When I was a young university student during t he mid-sixties, I had an open invitation to come here but which I failed to honor. In the late seventies when China opened up to foreign business and trade, I was again priveleged to be one of the first businessman to be invited. I used to come to Shanghai almost every month to negotiate joint ventures in behalf of my foreign principals.

Today, I come as a neighbor to China. And I have come to nurture a linkage that the Philippines and China have had for the better part of this millenium, antedating western discovery of our region by hundreds of years. This millenium, antedating western discovery of our region by hundreds of years. This historical linkage can easily be seen in the faces and names of many Filipinos, in our language, familial relationships, arts and crafts, cuisine, and many other attributes of our culture, Our countries both belong to the fastest growing region is thus, only natural that this historical, cultural, economic and political links be further expanded into other important concerns such as that of the environment.

I therefore welcome China's initiatives to strengthen her common ties with her neighbors. This policy underscores the fact that more effective actions can come from joint efforts of countries that share common attributes and concerns.

Along this line, I propose that we start joint programs that will pursue the areas of consensus agreed upon during the first APEC ministerial meeting on sustainable development held in Manila last July 11-12, 1996. I was privileged to act as chairman of that meeting, which arrived at the following areas of consensus for joint efforts by APEC member economies:

—clean and sustainable cities

—clean production and technologies

—clean oceans and seas

The Philippines and China with similarly rapid rates of population growth and urbanization, definitely share common interests on aspects related to sustainable cites; with our drive to modernize our industry, we both want technologies for clean production; and by sharing the same oceans and seas, we also both worry about increasing problems of marine pollution and the need to protect rare marine resources.

In my meeting with counterpart agencies in Beijing, I was pleased to meet cooperation on these three focal areas.

I therefore look forward to an immediate start of exchange visits among scientists, students and officials. We have been doing this in agriculture and forestry, It would not be difficult to arrange the same in the fields of urban management, clean production and clean oceans and seas, It is my hope that more linkages can be strengthened from these humble beginnings.

In conclusion, I recall that during one of my early business trips to Shanghai I picked up a scroll as a gift to a friend in the Philippines, It was a multi-layered picture of clear skies, majestic mountains and a meandering river. Almost unnoticeable in a small corner of this vast scenery was a small cluster of people, apparently huddled in a spirited conversation. My friend was so moved by the picture that he did not only put it on his wall, he added a caption:" Revolutions start in small places".

Speaking before you today, I feel that the wise counsel that will come out of your deliberations will help preserve one of these planet's largest ecosystems. My only hope is that the wave of ideas will not only reach our shores; that we get a chance to work on them-like good neighbors.

Thank you and good day.