Welcome Remarks
Delivered by Hon. Wolfgang Gerhardt, MP

Your Excellency, President Aquino, Honorable Senate President Drilon, Honorable Graham Watson, Has van Baalen, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen. It is as you can imagine the great pleasure and an honor for me to be invited to this meeting of most important international organizations of organized liberalism. These 3 important Organizations are: Liberal International, Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats (CALD) and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE).

Having taken-over charge of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation from my well-known and illustrious predecessor, Count Lambsdorf, just a few weeks ago, I cannot think of a better way to start my term as to come here to Manila. The Friedrich Naumann Foundation I often label as a foundation for freedom has been committed to foster ever closer co-operation of liberals worldwide. This occasion gives me the opportunity to re-affirm our commitment to this cause here in Manila.

Liberals spread the value of freedom of the individual and this makes us a natural internationalists. Freedom includes the freedom of individuals to interact with each other across boundaries. This interaction can be economical which is why we support free trade. But it can and it should be cultural and political. The organization’s meetings here, the liberals, are embodying this value of political interaction across borders and continents based on shared values.

Our topic today touches in the meeting, the freedom of people to move across borders. That is surely the most complex issue of international interaction, the one that causes often emotions and all too often irrational responses. It is an issue on almost all of our countries and we tend to over emphasize the problems and forget about the positive sides of it. It is therefore befitting that we discuss this in the Philippines.

The estimate indicate that 10% of the population works abroad. Often, these people are major contributors  to their host countries and  their home countries and we should appreciate their achievements. I look forward to an intensive sharing of experiences on these topics with my Liberal colleagues and friends from around the world. We are encouraged by the impressive growth of the Liberal family in Asia. We are grateful to our host from the Liberal Party, the oldest Liberal Party in Asia that has played a nurturing role in the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats.

Finally, Ladies and Gentlemen and dear friends, we are look forward to listening to her Excellency President Aquino, who led as it was mentioned before and as we all know the peaceful revolution of 1986 that sparked the following movements the peaceful quest for freedom anew around the world. The toppling of the Berlin wall as you can imagine, we never expected it and I never expected that to topple the Berlin wall as it happened in 1989. So, we know when we speak about borders, what it means to cross borders and to give people the opportunity to cross borders. What that experience showed for us is the cost of liberty is linked across boundaries. It is something we tend to forget among our daily struggles.

May our meeting serve to remind us of this joint cause and further it together.

Thank you, ladies and gentlemen for your attention. I wish our meeting the best success.