Yuchengco addresses Columbia University

Regional groupings will enhance East Asian competitiveness, Ambassador Alfonso T. Yuchengco told members of Columbia University’s graduate school of business recently.

Yuchengco, Philippine Permanent Representative to the United Nations, spoke on "Asian Business Competitiveness" as part of the prestigious Silfen Leadership Lecture series.

Yuchengco is an alumnus of Columbia University (class ’50) and a member of the graduate school’s board of overseers.

The Filipino diplomat said "both political and economic reasons compel East Asians to get together in regional blocks.

"One urgent reason is that they’re all wary of being marginalized as Europe and North America consolidate powerful trading and negotiating blocks," he said.

Yuchengco, however, added that it will be years before these blocks will be completely formed. Nevertheless, he said increasing inter-regional trade is already very substantial. Citing figures to support his views, the ambassador pointed to the agreement forged by 10 ASEAN states last year to negotiate free trade with China within five to 10 years. The agreement creates a free trade area that will make up the world’s largest internal market—— more than 1.7 billion people, a combined GDP of more than $2 trillion and a total trade of $1.2 million.

Just as significant, Yuchengco observed, Asia’s "traditional ways of doing business are adapting to the pressures of global competition."

Yuchengco was appointed Philippine Permanent Representative to the United Nations by President Arroyo late last year. He is currently working for the election of the Philippines to become a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for the two-year term 2004 and 2005. The election will be held in November 2003 in New York City.

Dean Meyer Feldberg, in introducing Yuchengco, cited this past postings in China and Japan as well as his contributions to the business school. Stephen Burke, Columbia’s director for development, also praised Yuchengco for his "outstanding record in international relations spanning not just diplomatic relations but business ties as well."

Columbia University Business School was rated for the third consecutive year No. 1 worldwide in the Executive Education Survey of the prestigious Financial Times. The school is No. 1 in course design, new skills learning follow-up quality of participants, value for money and international participants.

The unprecedented top ranking of Columbia for three consecutive years, it says, reflects the outstanding quality of its teaching and curriculum and its commitment to providing highest-caliber managers worldwide.