Remarks

Good afternoon, MAGANDANG TANGHALI po

Honorary, REAAA President, REAAA council members, distinguished moderator, speakers, participants and guests,

Greetings from Jakarta!

It is a great honor and privilege for me to present this opening speech for the 8th REAAA Business Forum today. Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has affected the whole world, it is not possible for us to hold this event face-to-face and the Forum is therefore being held on-line.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

First of all, I would like to extend my gratitude to REAP, chaired by Madame Catalina Cabral, who has prepared and organized everything for this event.

As the coordinator of the REAAA Business Forum, please allow me to tgive a brief history of the REAAA BF.

REAAA BF was designed for Business to Business or B to B cooperation & collaboration in infrastructure development, especially in roads and related sectors.

We are delighted to announce that since the establishment of this forum in 2014, REAAA has become the most dynamic road association in Asia and Australia with membership from individuals and institutions increasing every year.

The forums are always held in conjunction with the REAAA council meetings and / or conferences.

From its early years, the REAAA Business Forum showed its potential and demonstrated its high strategic value for REAAA.

From the start, 7 forums had been carried out. Today’s Forum will be the 8th.

The first 2 REAAA BF were held in Bali, Indonesia in April 2014 and in Sydney, Australia in October 2014.

The 3rd was held in Tokyo, Japan in November 2016 .

The 4th in Bali, Indonesia in March 2017.

The 5th in Manila, The Philippines in July 2017.

The 6th in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in October 2019 and

The 7th in Taipei, Taiwan in April 2019.

All the forums proved to be a great success.

In this regard, REAAA BF can play an important role as facilitator to establish any business opportunities to be implemented among country-members.

It was planned to hold the 8th REAAA Business Forum in Jakarta in March 2020 but this had to be cancelled because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Only now can it be held today in Manila with members joining on-line. Even though I feel sad that we cannot meet face-to-face like last time, we should just be grateful that the event can still go ahead even though it is on-line.

Whatever the situation we are now facing, may GOD bless us and all the nations and peoples of this world.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Today the 8th REAAA BF, will be chaired by moderator Professor RONILO Balbieran and features 8 (eight) prominent speakers who will be giving presentations, followed by a LIVE open forum for questions and discussion.

I strongly hope that this event can provide us with more opportunities in building linkages and partnerships among country-members.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Please enjoy this forum and have a valuable discussion.

By way of ending my opening speech, may I just say a most hearty WELCOME.

Thank you, maraming salamat 🙏