Other participants and guest speakers, including Senate President Pete P. Reyes, Speaker Arnold I. Palacios and mayors, advocated a partnership to address the needs of the Guam military buildup project.
Participants also raised the need for cooperation to address the global economic crisis.
“I urge all of you to make the most of this opportunity to learn from each other and address our regional challenges and opportunities, including the much anticipated military buildup in our region,” the governor told participants in the Secnd Annual Pacific Mayors Conference at the Fiesta Resort & Spa.
The four-day conference was attended by mayors and other city and municipal officials from the Philippines, Guam, Kosrae, the Marshall Islands and the CNMI.
Fitial said the conference is an excellent opportunity for the Pacific region to share information and exchange ideas on how to better meet the needs of their communities and constituents.
“We can look at our strengths and weaknesses, and consider what works and what doesn’t work and see if we can benefit from each other’s experiences and mistakes,” the governor said.
Reyes, referring to the conference’s theme “Maximizing Municipal Muscle,” said there’s an urgent need for cooperation in all levels of government to face the global economic downturn.
He said there should be a collective experience and dialogue between governments to be able to solve challenges.
“Municipal governments are on the frontlines of this effort. It is the mayors and municipal councils that are closest to local issues and perspectives and whom will be key to the economic recovery throughout the region,” Reyes said.
Palacios said the conference will give Pacific Rim municipal and city executives the chance to continue building the concept of regional collaboration and identifying opportunities to benefit collectively the Pacific family in a meaningful way.
“As isolated and insulated we may seem from the problems of the rest of the world, we are not immune from the far-flung effects of the global economy. Perhaps, as members of the Pacific family, the imperative to collaborate, to share, and to help each other are stronger than ever before,” the speaker said.
In his message, Philippine Consul General Wilfredo DL. Maximo said he was inspired by the participants’ focus on the positive, rather than the negative, consequences of the global recession.
“We in this sub-section of the Pacific face unprecedented opportunities for further growth and development, not the least through the military buildup on Guam,” he said.
Maximo urged participants to coordinate their activities in the economic, political and social-cultural spheres “to ensure smooth sailing and the eventual success of their various endeavors.”
