Mr Chairman, as we draw to a close this valuable meeting of minds from Asia and Europe on a now universal concern of terrorism, allow me submit a few points.

Terrorism directly threatens people and is an assault on their dignity.  We must allow our peoples to live free from fear, to live in a safe and secure world.  Terrorism not only poses a serious threat to the lives of our people, but also the values and ideals that define their society.  Terrorism reduces people to mere pawns in a ruthless game of competing beliefs and ideologies.

The Philippines condemns all forms of terrorism.  No cause or dogma can ever justify its use. Long before September 11, the Philippines and its people had been suffering from this scourge.  We have seen the face of terror and felt its deadly touch.  As such, the national leadership has always acknowledged the terrorist threat as one of the major scourge of contemporary society.  We were among the first in our region to join the international war against terror.

The Philippines believes that conflicts should be addressed before terrorism can begin to define or exploit the conflict.  This can be done by working together with other nations.  I believe that is one of the principal messages of this conference.

We therefore subscribe to the Chair’s summary and reaffirm that the fight against terrorism must be carried out in accordance with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and general norms of international law.  We also submit that, to complement inter-faith dialogue, dialogues between peoples of different civilizations should be encouraged. Deep and historic divisions can be healed through a dialogue between the peoples of different civilizations.  It is believed that our people’s differences, be they of belief or culture, should never be the basis for misunderstanding or conflict

The Philippines welcomes further enhancement of intra – and interregional cooperation and supports the strengthening of ASEM consultation, cooperation and coordination in the fight against terrorism through the specific initiatives and practical measures and capacity building assistance stated in the Chair’s summary.

In conclusion, Mr Chairman, allow me to express our sincere gratitude for your excellent steering of this conference and as well as for its organization without which this meeting will not have come to a successful end.

Thank you.