Hon. Manuel Gerochi, Acting Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources,
Excellencies of the ASEM member countries,
Governor Armando Sanchez of Batangas,
Colleagues in Government and the Diplomatic Community,
Distinguished Delegates and Participants,
Ladies and Gentlemen:

Good morning and welcome to the first Technical Working Group Meeting of the ASEM Oceans Initiative.

Ten years ago, during the very first ASEM Summit, then President Fidel Ramos put forward the protection of the marine environment and joint scientific research among the potential cooperative efforts in the context of the Asia-Europe Meeting.  Today, that potential is closer to realization, as this meeting gathers experts and policy makers from both regions with the aim of coming up with practical means of cooperation for the preservation of our oceans and their resources.

The Philippines has always placed vital importance to ocean governance, marine environmental protection, and marine scientific research.  It is from this perspective that my government, without hesitation, decided to underwrite the holding this Technical Working Group Meeting.

An important goal of this meeting is to produce an Action Plan that will lay down the foundations of a long-term and sustained collaboration among ASEM countries in the areas of marine environmental protection and marine scientific research.  On this particular objective, I hope that the technical working group will succeed.

I also encourage the meeting participants to join the marine site visit in the Province of Batangas.  Batangas, with its 336-kilometer coastline and more than 200 coastal communities, implements a province-wide integrated coastal resource management programme.  Mabini, a municipality in Batangas, also has a community-based coastal resource management programme.  I encourage the meeting participants to interact with the community leaders, as well as to take advantage of the opportunity to go swimming, snorkeling or diving.  Anilao, a district in Mabini, is a well-known location among diving experts and enthusiasts, possessing approximately 24 dive spots and a rich marine biodiversity.  I wish you all to participate and enjoy this R & R.

Before closing, I would like to acknowledge the contribution of Portugal and Indonesia in providing their speakers for this conference.  They generously endorsed the Philippine proposal for the ASEM Oceans Initiative at the 7th ASEM Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Kyoto, Japan in May 2005.  I would also like to thank the Philippines’ Department of Environment and Natural Resources and Maritime and Oceans Affairs Center, whose partnership with the Office of European Affairs of the DFA contributed substantially to the realization of this meeting.

Mabuhay and welcome.