DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS 
P R E S S  R E L E A S E
www.dfa.gov.ph                                                                                           2330 Roxas Blvd., Pasay City, Philippines                                                                                 Tel. No. 834-4000 
SFA-AGR-750-05                                                                                                                                                                                                                             13 October  2005
 

ROMULO – RP BETTER POISED TO NEGOTIATE FAIR GLOBAL TRADE REGIME;
INAUGURATES GENEVA OFFICE OF THE PHILIPPINE MISSION TO THE WTO

13 October 2005, GENEVA – With the Philippine economy regaining vigor, regional economic integration and cooperation moving toward Southeast Asia and East Asia, and a Mission in Geneva dedicated to the task, the Philippines is better poised to actively participate in negotiating a fair global trade regime, said Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto G. Romulo who formally inaugurated the new office of the Philippine Mission to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva.
 
"The establishment of the office of the dedicated Mission to the WTO is not only an affirmation of our commitment to remain engaged in the multilateral trading system; It is also an important step towards harnessing international trade in support of national economic development," Secretary Romulo added.
 
The Secretary stressed that Philippine policy at the Mission will be guided by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's vision contained in her announcement at the 2002 ASEAN free trade symposium that "trade is not an end in itself but merely a means for development."
 
Secretary Romulo, assisted by Ambassador Lorenzo Schnyder von Wartensee, Chief of the Swiss Mission Host Country Division, unveiled a commemorative marker with the President's statement during the inauguration of the Mission offices held on 10 October 2005 in the presence of ASEAN Ambassadors to the WTO.
 
Secretary Romulo likewise underscored the importance of the "development dimension" in the Philippines' approach to the multilateral trading system.
 
"The development dimension should provide developing countries the requisite policy space to pursue strategies that would allow them to develop fully their potential in sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing, and technology development," Secretary Romulo said.
 
With the establishment of the offices of the Mission to the WTO, the Philippines is now effectively poised to negotiate fair global trading arrangements and "create more responsive development mechanisms in the multilateral trading system", the Secretary added.
 
The Philippine Mission to the WTO is headed by Ambassador Manuel A.J. Teehankee, and composed of an inter-agency team of officers from the Departments of Foreign Affairs, Agriculture, and Trade & Industry.  END
 
 

/gary