CHILE’S PRESIDENT SPEAKS AT PBEC
OPENING PLENARY SESSION
Santiago to Achieve APEC Free Trade Commitment by 2010, Frei says
Santiago, May 25, 1998 -- President Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle today announced that Chile
would meet its commitment to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum’s goal of
free trade and investment by the early 2010 mark, rather than wait until 2020, the later
deadline set for APEC’s developing economies. Frei made the announcement in a keynote
address delivered at the opening session of the 31st International General Meeting (IGM)
of the Pacific Basin Economic Council. PBEC is an association of senior business leaders
representing more than 1,100 major corporations in 20 economies around the Pacific, most
of which like Chile are also APEC members. (From November 1998, APEC will have 21
members.) Attending the IGM are more than 500 senior business executives and government
officials from Asia, the Pacific and the Americas.
In his speech, President Frei said that Chile regarded PBEC as one of the key institutions
in the Pacific region. “Fifteen years ago,when PBEC held its last meeting in Chile,
there was a certain skepticism about the idea that a country from Latin America could
benefit from participation in an organization like this,” Frei remarked. “Many
said Chile should focus on its traditional allies in Europe and the United States. Today,
experience has clearly demonstrated just how wrong that point of view was.” Frei also
stressed that it would be very disappointing if APEC were to cede to pressures for
protectionism amid the economic crisis in East Asia. He emphasized that market-opening
policies and increased integration into the world economy were the best recipes for
Asia’s economic woes.
The President also reviewed the factors that have helped keep Chile’s growth steady
and unemployment low (currently at 5%). Among them: a solid banking sector with clear
rules, fair and stable conditions for foreign investors, a balanced national budget and a
readiness to continue reforms. He also announced that the country’s goal of investing
US$3.5 billion in infrastructure projects, all privately financed, has already been
achieved. By the time his presidency ends in 2000, Frei reckoned, infrastructure
investment would total US$5 billion. Finally, he called for businesspeople to be more
conscious of their responsibilities to their community: “A good entrepreneur is aware
of the fact that fulfilling the company’s social obligations will also contribute to
general welfare and to the company’s own well-being. An entrepreneur who neglects
this is sowing the seeds of his own destruction.”
PBEC’s annual IGM is an opportunity for the region’s foremost corporate
executives to gather with other international leaders to discuss the key issues in the
regional economy, and to issue policy recommendations and statements. PBEC member
corporations account for more than $4 trillion in global sales and employ more than 10
million people. The unprecedented scope of PBEC membership constitutes a broad and
balanced reservoir of international business knowledge. PBEC recently celebrated its 30th
anniversary making it Asia Pacific’s most senior business organization. PBEC is the
voice of business in the Pacific.
Contact:
Stephen Olson
PBEC International Secretariat
900 Fort Street, Suite 1080
Honolulu, Hawaii 96813 USA
Tel. 521-9044 ext. 17
Fax.521-8530
E-mail: steve@pbec.org
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