KEYNOTE ADDRESS

HON. ENRIQUE A. MANALO

Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of the Philippines

OPENING CEREMONY

HIGH-LEVEL CONFERENCE OF MIDDLE-INCOME COUNTRIES

28 April 2025 | Makati Shangri-La Hotel

Secretary Arsenio Balisacan,

His Excellency Omar Hilale, Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Morocco to the UN, and the Former Chair of the Like-Minded Group

UN Under-Secretary-General Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana,

Excellencies, Honorable Heads of Delegations,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good morning.

It is with great pleasure that I welcome you all to the High-Level Conference of Middle-Income Countries here in Manila. 

With 105 middle-income countries comprising 75% of the world’s population and one-third of global GDP, we are a formidable group whose strong, united voice can propel us as pacemakers of the global economy, and international peace, and security.   Many of us have emerged from our respective journeys of transformation to become architects of our own destinies in this century. 

The Philippines takes on the Chairship of the Like-Minded Group of Middle-Income Countries with the aim to build on the legacy of the Kingdom of Morocco and all the previous chairs of the Group, and to harness the strength of its 19 members as champions of multilateralism united with other nations in a common purpose to achieve prosperity and the optimal well-being of our  peoples.  

The Philippines is proud to host this Conference, the first time it is taking place in Asia. From 2007 to 2024, our meetings took place in Spain, El Salvador, Namibia, Jordan, Belarus, Costa Rica, and of course, Morocco. 

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

This Conference rides on the momentum created by the adoption just last Friday, 25 April, of a historic resolution led by the Philippines and adopted by the 81st Session of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific or ESCAP. This resolution underlines the critical role of ESCAP in advancing solutions and pathways for middle income countries in the region. This is important because forty-one (41) of the fifty-three (53) ESCAP members are MICs. 

The current global landscape represents a defining moment for Middle Income Countries.  Dramatic shifts highlight the compelling centrality of multilateralism in fostering dialogue and cooperation and reforging partnerships for resilience, efficiency and sustainability.  

Middle income countries are home to 75 per cent of the world’s population and 62 per cent of the world’s poor. At the same time, MICs account for one-third of global GDP and are major engines of economic growth. 

So, the stakes for getting things right are high. 

And to falter under the pressures of the global shifts and uncertainties is not an option.  

For twenty (29) low-income countries that transitioned to middle-income country status in the past 15 years, gains from decades of persistence, populations lifted out of poverty, futures converted from despair to promise need to be preserved and protected. 

Woven into the paths of all MICs are threads of shared experience and challenges such as: 

• income inequality, and disparities limiting social mobility and exacerbation of poverty;
• structural barriers  hindering growth and investments;
• limited access to education and skills development blunting economic competitiveness;
• vulnerabilities  to global market fluctuations; and
• inadequate infrastructure causing inefficiencies and hinders economic expansion.

The representation among MICs, including from the Asia Pacific, at this High-level Conference, acknowledges the need for sustained dialogue on better supporting the growth track of middle income countries through thoughtful strategies and concrete, scalable, and impactful solutions.

More to the point, it is an acknowledgment that we need each other.

With stewardship of over half of the world’s poor, middle income countries must surge through internal and external challenges to attain our national development goals within an acceptable time frame. As such, we are critical contributors to the so-called last-mile run for meeting the SDG targets in 2030.   

We are also re-molding traditional development partnerships as more MICs, including the Philippines, increase resources for South-South and technical cooperation. This is a trend that if scaled up could potentially result in game-changing dividends for the global development system.

Carving a steady path for all middle income countries behooves us to support strongly an international rules-based order underpinned by equity and justice.  President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., has described this order as the ballast of the international community amidst periods of turmoil and change.

Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,

Much thought has been put into how countries could escape the middle-income trap through healthy economic policies.  Our conversations today and tomorrow should aim for concerted action to leverage the right tools and resources to assist middle income countries throughout their growth trajectory.  

Let us pursue solutions suited to evolving context and needs.  

We should take decisive steps to mainstream green transitions, resilience strategies and innovation as new frontiers for growth and economic enablers. 

We need to replace out-dated metrics, finance and development assistance models to promote more empowering, robust and inclusive approaches and partnerships.  

To the Philippines, this means:     

• First, ensuring that economic growth is well-distributed through investments in social protection programs and enhancing social safety nets;
• Strengthening our national institutions based upon the rule of law. Good governance and strong institutions, including through transparency in public fiscal management, and anchoring long-term economic development on these factors;
• improving access to education and upskilling our workforces, including placing emphasis on STEM to meet the demands of modern economies; 
• Fourthly, integrating climate and biodiversity resilience in our policies as we diversify our economies into higher-value sectors; 
• Fifthly, supporting industry and small and medium enterprises; 
• And lastly, reshaping the contours and shifting the focus of our long-standing development partnerships while taking a more active role as a South-south and technical cooperation partner to  nations in the Pacific, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean and Africa; 
• And, also achieving more efficiencies in the reformed UN development system.

Like many MICs, the Philippines recognizes that good economics means investing in people, prioritizing environmental sustainability, ecological and climate resilience, and harnessing technology as a force for good and inclusion.

My friends, ladies and gentlemen,

While the Philippines is poised to transition soon to upper-middle-income economy status, we anchor our expectations with optimism and realism. That is why we are looking forward to learning more from our MICs counterparts on lessons learned about growing in greater resilience and sustainability and leaving no one behind. 

So, I welcome you all to share in this spirit of hope and endeavor encompassing our common development aspirations during this High-Level Conference.  

As a founding member of the United Nations, which marks its 80th anniversary this year, the Philippines shares with Member States and the UN development system the unshakeable intention to reinvigorate the power of partnerships as a critical toolbox for 21st century multilateralism. 

This Conference is an invitation to partnerships that would go the distance in shaping a fairer and more equal world.  

I wish everyone a productive Conference, and a pleasant stay here in Manila, and to friends and partners who have come from afar to please have also, aside from your work, an enjoyable stay here in the Philippines.

Thank you and Mabuhay!