Carlos G. Dominguez
Secretary of Finance
Host Country Dinner
May 5, 2018
President Rodrigo Roa Duterte; Former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo; His Excellency Toke Talagi, Premier of Niue; His Excellency Taro Aso, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of Japan; His Excellency Dong Yeon Kim, Deputy Minister of Strategy and Finance of South Korea; Asian Development Bank President Takehiko Nakao; finance ministers and ADB Governors; members of the Philippine legislature, fellow cabinet secretaries, fellow workers in government; distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen:
I thank the ADB’s leadership for the great work you have done to ensure the success of this annual meeting. The Philippines is thankful for the opportunity to host this important meeting held at this important time.
The pace of technological change, the continuing reconfiguration of the Asian economies and the dramatic political events around us do challenge our institutions. But the passion to happily cope with change rethink the way we do things and collectively peer into the future we might not fully grasp yet keep us hopeful that this great institution, the Asian Development Bank, will be functional and valuable to all its members in the decades to come.
I hope that you have found the arrangements suitable and the meetings productive. The ADB and our staff at the Department of Finance worked every detail to ensure the comfort and safety of all the delegates, although we cannot do much about our very hot weather, it is our summer. I trust that you were not too warm.
I wish you all an enjoyable stay and a safe journey home. Thank you for coming to this meeting and for honoring us with your presence here this evening.
Ladies and gentlemen, it is my honor and privilege to introduce you now to the 16th President of the Republic of the Philippines, Mayor Rodrigo Roa Duterte.
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