Closing Statement  of the Honorable Delia Domingo Albert,
Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines,
 

Excellencies, Your Royal Highness, and Colleagues  from East Asia and Latin America;
Distinguished Guests;
Ladies and Gentlemen:

Finis coronat opus.
The end crowns our work.

We have come to the end of our Second Ministerial Meeting.

We can all take pride in the success of our dialogue.

We have made significant progress. We have advanced the FEALAC agenda.

We have fortified the bridges that link so much more closely East Asia and Latin America.

At the opening Plenary, we clearly charted the direction of the Ministerial Meeting. We approved key  recommendations resulting from FEALAC’s work over the past two years. These efforts engendered concrete projects  for the benefit of our peoples. They also crystallised means  to strengthen our Forum.
 
During our Ministerial Retreat, we exchanged views on the international situation. Together, we explored areas in which FEALAC can  bring our two regions  even closer.  We agreed to make FEALAC more dynamic. This includes bringing into the FEALAC process our officials involved in other areas. We agreed that our delegates in various multilateral fora would benefit from a continuing dialogue.

On more personal level, the retreat afforded heads of delegation, especially the foreign ministers, opportunities for mutual acquaintance and for re-forging of old friendships.  The importance of personal rapport cannot be gainsaid. The relations of nations, after all, are most solidly founded on the relationships of individual persons.
You will agree with me that the highlight of our meeting was the adoption of the Manila Plan of Action.  This Plan, assiduously discussed and formulated by our delegates and senior officials, charts our Forum’s directions in the next few years. We hope to maintain the momentum that our meeting has generated.   We are confident that FEALAC will work in earnest to implement the Plan of Action.

We also welcomed Korea and Brazil as the Forum’s new coordinators. We have great faith in their ability to keep FEALAC moving for the common good of our regions. Likewise—and I believe that I voice the sentiment of Colombia and many of you—the outgoing regional coordinators can and should be counted on to continue their active role. We are ready to help our new Regional Coordinators whenever necessary.

I am sure that the edifying seriousness, efficiency, and dedication of FEALAC Ministers and Senior Officials will continue inspiring our delegates who will eventually be the leaders of our Forum.

FEALAC seeks to advance understanding and cooperation between our two regions. It is on the firm foundation of personal contact, friendships, and face-to-face exchanges, that we can best build dynamic relationships, inter-national and regional.

And as we strengthen the bonds that unite us—in dialogue and  cooperative activity—so must we seek to make FEALAC a relevant  and constructive force in the family of nations.  As we help one another, so must we help the global community to which we all belong.

And so, Excellencies and dear colleagues, as I declare our meetings closed, I sincerely hope that your visit to the Philippines has been pleasant and fulfilling.  God willing, we shall meet again--in other countries of East Asia and Latin America.  But I hope that you may continue to cherish memories of our meetings in the Philippines.  In this land, where, over the centuries Latin and Asian cultures have blended to mould the Filipino, please feel at home, now and always.

Thank you.