New Year’s resolutions

New Year is one of those occasions that bear out the slogan “It’s more fun in the Philippines”. Perhaps it’s because New Year seems to last longer here. The firecrackers begin days beforehand, and go on longer after. But as the smoke clears, the similarities between New Year in the Philippines and other countries are also increasingly apparent.

Across the world, and throughout history, New Year has been a time to make plans for the future. The Ancient Romans were making New Year resolutions more than two millennia before us — and doubtless breaking them as quickly as we do now. Mark Twain’s observation still rings true that now “is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions. Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual.”

Nonetheless, I begin the year in less cynical mood than Twain, on both a private and professional level. At the private level I’ve made my resolutions, but will follow the advice of a famous English jurist of the 17th Century, John Selden. He cautioned: “Never tell your resolution beforehand, or it’s twice as onerous a duty.”  But at the professional level, it’s less a case of making resolutions, and more a matter of setting goals for the year ahead. So I can be less circumspect about my ambitions for UK-Philippine relations in 2013.

High on my list is a deepening of the business relationship. The Philippines is booming, and producing any number of impressive statistics, whether to do with competitiveness, the stock market, the peso or the investment ratings. Our economies have a lot to offer each other, whether it’s British expertise in public private partnerships and much-needed infrastructure, or the Philippines’ world-leading BPO industry.  Companies have a choice of course as to where to do business.  If we can secure direct flights from London to Manila in 2013, that will help a lot. I’ll continue to make the case too for an EU-Philippines free trade agreement. That will be the work of several years not just one, but it would be a win-win for both countries, enhancing access for Philippine companies to the world’s largest single market.

Britain will also be working to support national, regional and global peace and security in 2013. In particular we will continue to support the quest for lasting peace in Mindanao. And I am confident that our two countries can work for peace and justice more widely in the world, whether in terms of addressing the pressing humanitarian challenge in Syria, cooperation in multilateral forums such as the UN Human Rights Council or the longer term threat posed by global climate change.

There are many more specific wishes I hope to see achieved Senate ratification of the UK-Philippine Extradition Treaty for example, or Philippine accession to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative. I hope we’ll see more high-level visitors in both directions and more tourists, students and visitors in general. We may not achieve everything we want, but with the Philippines in confident mood, and UK-Philippine relations in excellent shape, we’ve every reason to start 2013 with a sense of optimism and ambition.  I wish Star readers a very happy, prosperous and peaceful new year!

(Stephen Lillie is British Ambassador to the Philippines)