Ramos says Asian crisis is wake-up call<\/p>\n
HONG KONG (Reuters): Asia's economic crisis is a \"wake-up
\ncall\", not a major turning point in the region's growth
\nprospects, Philippine President Fidel Ramos said yesterday.<\/p>\n
Recent financial turmoil, rather than shocking the region into
\nprotectionist mode, was a timely reminder of the benefits of
\nopenness, Ramos said.<\/p>\n
\"The current financial crisis is likely to be less a
\npsychological turning point than a wake-up call for our
\ncountries,\" Ramos told the 1997 East Asia Economic Summit
\norganized by the World Economic Forum.<\/p>\n
\"It is obviously unrealistic to pronounce East Asia's period
\nof high growth as over.\"<\/p>\n
Southeast Asia's economic fundamentals were still strong, with
\nthe World Bank forecasting an average annual economic growth rate
\nfor the region of 7.6 percent from 1997 to 2006, confirming East
\nAsia as the world's highest growth region, Ramos said.<\/p>\n
But Ramos said strong regional stability, underpinned by
\nincreasing economic interdependence, was an important precursor
\nto quick recovery from the troubles.<\/p>\n
\"The remedy lies not in turning away from the world but in
\nembracing it even more closely,\" Ramos said.<\/p>\n
Constructive engagement and interdependence must be fully
\nsupported to sustain regional peace and prosperity, he said.<\/p>\n
\"And these, we are convinced, trade, investment and
\ndevelopment cooperation will promote,\" Ramos said.<\/p>\n
\"We of the Philippines are bringing down all economic barriers
\nto globalization in the belief that regional security depends
\nprimarily on peaceful commerce rather than on military power, and
\nthat the future lies in economic interdependence,\" he said.<\/p>\n
But nations face some hard choices in the coming months to
\ncounter the economic upheaval.<\/p>\n
Economic management would determine how well nations recovered
\nand some painful adjustments were going to be required in some
\ncountries, Ramos said.<\/p>\n
He said the Philippines was positioning itself to benefit from
\na return to strong growth, partly by building an information
\ntechnology agenda in cooperation with the world's biggest
\nplayers.<\/p>\n
Ramos said he would meet Microsoft Corp's Bill Gates and other
\nindustry leaders during a visit to North America for the Asia
\nPacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting next month.<\/p>\n
Anticipating much closer investor scrutiny of political and
\nsocio-economic regimes in East Asia, Ramos pledged to speed up
\neconomic reform efforts throughout the remaining eight months of
\nhis tenure as president.<\/p>\n
Confirming his decision not to run for re-election, Ramos said
\nhe had persuaded the Philippines legislature to focus on
\nintensifying economic reform rather than changing the
\nconstitution to allow him to run for a second term.<\/p>\n
The Philippines, along with Thailand and Indonesia, was forced
\nto effectively devalue its currency earlier this year as investor
\nfears grew over the health of its economy.<\/p>",
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