Aquino wants APEC framework on financial markets developed

President Benigno Aquino III said Monday he will propose to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit participants in Japan to develop a framework on dealing with the volatile global financial markets. In an ambush interview in Malacañang, Aquino said the idea of developing such a framework was one of the topics he discussed with International Monetary Fund (IMF) deputy managing director Naoyuki Shinohara who made courtesy call at the Palace in the morning. Aquino said he generally agrees that there is a need for "concerted action" on the volatility of financial markets, but noted that his bias toward such a framework — if it will indeed be crafted — will depend on the details. "The idea lang, basically, is let us learn from the lessons of the Great Depression where each individual state decided to act on their own interests," the President said. “So ‘yung framework basically seeks to have a concerted action on decreasing the volatility of the world financial market," he added. Developed countries whose gains from financial markets are "not as good" as those of emerging markets like the Philippines should try to discuss the current trend as a global concern, he said. "It is managing the inflows versus the ability to utilize these inflows constructively and on a global perspective," said Aquino. Aquino will fly to Yokohama, Japan for the APEC summit on Nov. 11. Apart from the summit, he will also hold bilateral meetings with leaders of Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. The Philippine government is wants to hold bilateral meetings with leaders of US, China, and Russia, of which the final arrangements are still to be finalized, Aquino said. — VS, GMANews.TV