ZURICH, Switzerland — Despite a rather somber global economic outlook for 2023, countries in Southeast Asia are expected to experience relatively positive levels of economic growth, with President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. saying the Philippines can resist a recession if it could keep its unemployment rate low.
This optimism was showcased during the 2023 World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland.
In a one-on-one dialogue, Marcos discussed geopolitical forces in the world today and post-pandemic economic growth in the region.
“Our unemployment rate now is lower than it was before the pandemic,” he said.
“As long as the unemployment rate stays low, then the recessionary forces are something that we can resist," he added.
The total gross domestic product (GDP) of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) hit $3.3 trillion in 2021, making up 3.5 percent of global GDP, according to bloc figures. Indonesia is the bloc’s largest economy by far.
In 2022 and 2023, ASEAN’s real GDP growth is seen to hit to be 5.2 percent, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Economic growth, however, varies drastically by country, with Myanmar on the low end and the Philippines on the high end.
Teresita Sy-Coson, the Vice-Chairperson of SM Investments Corporation, who is part of President Marcos' delegation, welcomed this development.
"ASEAN for us, for the Philippines, is a strength,” she said.
Luhut B. Pandjaitan, the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs of Indonesia, expressed confidence in ASEAN's role.
"We are confident, if you can play a role like this, that ASEAN becomes the center of economic growth in the region," the official said.
Anutin Charnvirakul, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Health of Thailand, commended ASEAN as the only region that connects the East with the West.
“Nobody could pierce through the eastern hemisphere without passing through the ASEAN region.”
ASEAN is a 10-country regional trading bloc established in its earliest form in 1967 in Bangkok, Thailand. It is home to over 660 million people and facilitates regional economic integration.
China is, by far, ASEAN’s largest trading partner. In 2021, trade between ASEAN and China hit $669 billion, marking a 29-percent year-over-year increase.
Total goods and services trade with the United States hit $362 billion in 2020. In 2021, total direct foreign investment in ASEAN hit nearly $180 billion.