“The first and most urgent priority today is dealing with terrorism. The other priority is global and regional cooperation to lift the global economy from the brink of recession. The global war against terrorism inevitably comes first because it is the be all and end all of stability and growth. Given the impact of terrorism on the global economy our first challenge is to deal with it and make this a secure and safe world, ” she said a keynote address at the World Economic Forum (WEF) East Asia Economic Summit 2001.

Citing the decision to support the US as not only a strategic decision, but also a moral one, Arroyo briefed participants as to the steps her administration has taken to support international terrorist coalition and the UN resolution to combat terrorism. The plan of action included stepping up the campaign against Abu Sayyaf, a militant terrorist group fighting for an independent homeland in the southern Philippines. She pledged to prevent the flow of funds to them by passing and implementing legislation against money laundering.

In its effort to stomp out terrorism, Arroyo said that the Philippines has initiated the establishment of a tri-nation anti-terrorist coalition between the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia. “We intend to share intelligence on terrorist activities, tighten boarder patrols, and if necessary partake in joint peace keeping operations,” she said.

Speaking from the perspective of a nation with first hand experience in an ongoing battle against terror, Arroyo spoke of the importance of addressing poverty as the breeding ground for terrorism. Under her direction, the Philippines has focused the attention of many of its anti-poverty programs on these breeding grounds for the mass base for terrorism. Efforts have been made to address in particular the southern provinces that suffer from economic exclusion and have a lower human development index.

“At the same time we have been engaging in broader and greater inter-faith dialogue because as the terrorists seek to make this a religious war, we must make this an opportunity to promote greater understanding of one another’s religions and one another’s cultures,” she said.

Noting how the global community as come together in the aftermath of September 11, Arroyo said that she would also like to see the level of international and regional cooperation in the fight against terrorism duplicated to ensure financial stability. A new “development round” of trade negotiations and the establishment of the Asian Free Trade Alliance would both serve to restore business confidence and stimulate sustainable economic growth in the developing world.

“It is in these meeting that we can address the concerns of globalization and find ways to make sure that the policies we put in place will lead to sustainable development and the alleviation of poverty,” she said. “As the financial crisis has demonstrated, we can maximize the benefits of globalization and minimize its adverse effects if we have greater coherence on how to respond to its many dimensions—trade, investments, capital and labor.”

Arroyo called for greater coordination and convergence of policies among international development institutions like the World Trade Organization and the regional development banks so that trade is mainstreamed into the development agenda.

“Just as we build an east Asia coalition to eradicate terrorism so too can we close ranks to lift the global economy. We must address both political and economic security. This renewed sense of global community could be the key to early recovery,” she said.