Marcos tells APEC leaders: Make big changes
"Make big changes."
This was what President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. told fellow leaders at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit in terms of accelerating efforts against global problems.
During the forum discussing the global economy and the future of APEC, the President stated that he agrees with Robert E. Moritz, Global Chairman of PricewaterhouseCoopers, that the changes that need to be made are structural.
"They have to be done structurally because this is a different world. This is a different economy. And as we were discussing in the green room, he says we're not playing catch-up. And I said, even if we were, what are we trying to catch up to? 2019? I don't think that that's the plan," Marcos said.
“We cannot be too married to the ideas that we were holding as truths before and we have to be willing to make big changes but with the recognition that from what is actually happening around the world,” he stressed.
Marcos, in his opening statement, raised three serious global problems that must be prioritized by world leaders. These are food security, global health system, and climate change.
He also pointed out that in making structural changes, innovations should be encouraged.
"But when we make these structural changes, I'd like to pick up on the point that Dr. Schwab made on innovation... We must still continue to encourage innovation and to recognize innovations that can actually help and immediately put them into play... if it's a product to market or if it's a system to implement that system," the President said.
Cooperation and competition
Meanwhile, the chief executive also lauded the APEC economies for being able to manage the balance between cooperation and competition.
“I think one of the great advantages that APEC and the countries in the Indo-Pacific, Asia-Pacific regions have been able to manage is that very difficult balance between cooperation and competition,” the President said during the same forum.
“And yet we seen, for the most part, I would say we have done it. And what has driven the growth of the region is that we are able to compete with one another. But when we find opportunities where partnerships will give the better result, we are all perfectly willing to enter into those partnerships as well,” Marcos said.
“So that I think is going to be key. We have done it before. It is the nature of APEC. If we continue to do that and strengthen that, I think it will be to the great benefit of all countries,” he further said.
Klaus Schwab, founder and chairman of World Economic Forum (WEF) was also with Marcos and Mortiz during the forum held on Thursday morning, Nov. 17.