Press Release
August 30, 2012

ANGARA: COOPERATION NEEDED FOR GLOBAL PEACE, PROSPERITY

Hanoi, Vietnam--Senator Edgardo J. Angara keynoted today the 5th Biennial International Conference of the Korean Studies Association of Southeast Asia (KoSASA) at the Hotel Intercontinental in Hanoi, Vietnam.

In his address, Angara underscored the importance of global cooperation in promoting prosperity, economic equity, and peace.

He said that continued cooperation at the bilateral, regional, and international levels is necessary for the global community to respond to challenges like disasters and financial crises.

"Global cooperation will be crucial in helping developing nations realize their economic potential--and accordingly alleviate the inequalities arising from globalization. As recent events have shown, a single country's fate is inextricably linked and intertwined with the rest of the world's. The mistakes of one can have haunting effects, far and wide."

Angara proposed four areas of collaboration: climate change mitigation and adaptation, the use of biotechnology to address food and water scarcity, managing the social and economic impact of a greying population, and intensifying socio-economic cooperation to ensure that everyone benefits from progress.

"We ought to work for a future built by a community of nations unified by a shared purpose and bound by mutual trust. We must remember that what one country can do well alone, nations united in cooperation can do better together.

"In this era of globalization, we must look beyond our own countries and collectively aspire for inclusive prosperity, lasting peace, and provision of opportunities for the fulfillment of individual potential."

Angara cited the strong partnership of Korea and the Philippines as a model for growth and development partnership.

"Our partnership is one of the best examples of how one country invests in the progress of another based on shared goals," he said to an audience composed of academics and decision-makers from all over Asia.

Angara said Korea supports many of the Philippines' projects on agriculture, ICT, education, health, governance, infrastructure development, energy, environment, and disaster relief.

The Philippines is also one of Korea's top aid recipients. From 2006 to 2010, Korea's ODA to the country totaled US$287 Million. Last year, the ODA ceiling for the Philippines was raised from US$300 Million to US$500 Million.

The Conference is organized by the Korea Development Institute and the Korea Research Institute at University of New South Wales, and hosted by the University of Social Sciences and Humanities-Hanoi, and the Korean Studies Association of Southeast Asia (KoSASA).

Angara is also on a tour of Southeast Asia to promote regional cooperation in anti-corruption among parliamentarians through the Southeast Asian Parliamentarians Against Corruption (SEAPAC) in anticipation of the 2013 GOPAC Manila Conference.

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