New Clark City with Japan
November 21, 2018
His Excellency Koji Haneda, Ambassador of Japan to the Philippines; Honorable [Budget Secretary Benjamin] Diokno and [National Security Adviser] Hermogenes Esperon [Jr.]; BCDA President and CEO Vince Dizon; Mr. Yasukazu Irino, Executive Vice President of JETRO; members of the Japanese delegation; friends, ladies and gentlemen:
Let me thank the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) and the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) for collaborating to put together this very important seminar. With the experts we have with us today, I am sure we will learn much about what is possible for the New Clark City we are just beginning to build.
I look forward to the smart city solutions we will be acquainted with today as well as the business partnerships we have encouraged between Japanese and Filipino companies. The New Clark City is going about this the right way—they are planning ahead and going to be building with all the new technology and plans in place rather than trying to retrofit a situation. The New Clark City we imagine is not just any other township. This will be a city prepared for the future, a community driven by technology and the most forward-looking industries.
The city we imagine can be made a reality through the cooperation between Filipinos and Japanese enterprises. By pooling our talents together, learning from each other, I am sure we will generate the synergy required to make the New Clark City better than our present visioning allows us to grasp. I am sure that all the plans will be flexible enough to allow new technologies that will emerge in the future to be easily adopted.
The New Clark City is the centerpiece of the comprehensive infrastructure program that President Rodrigo Duterte boldly embarked on. This ambitious infrastructure program has been made possible by a fortuitous combination of factors. These factors include a decisive leadership, enough fiscal space achieved through years of tough reforms and tax reforms; a strong effort to build a competent bureaucracy capable of executing large visions; the continuing effort to reform our revenue systems; and the generous support of our international friends and development partners, notably the Japanese people.
The economic strategy we pursue seeks to achieve rapid, investments-led growth that raises productivity across the board throughout the archipelago. This is the way to achieve truly inclusive growth and dramatically bring down poverty rates among our people.
I am sure expectations are high, especially among our international partners. Let me take this opportunity to assure all of you that we have both the will and the competence to create a dynamic economy in the medium term. The Philippines will continue its emergence as a growth leader and a center for innovation in the region.
The new city we are building here will be the icon for the dynamic urban centers that we intend to nurture as we march confidently towards the future. This new city will foster innovation. It will showcase our capability to harness new technologies to build vibrant and sustainable communities. It will demonstrate the great progress that international partnerships make possible.
I look forward to a provocative and fruitful seminar today. We have much to learn from each other. Let us proceed with enthusiasm and boundless energy.
Thank you and good day.
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