"We've got to change our mindset. Let's not think that the world is happening to us. We have to come up with our own ideas — what we want to sell, what we want to offer, where we have unique propositions. We have to see the world as our market, beyond our domestic market. Then we have to be really excellent in offering the services, we have to think of clear strategies of how to work together to make ourselves a real player. So number one priority is changing the mindset of how to avail of the opportunities of the free trade," Doris Ho told reporters.
The creation of a free trade zone that would include all APEC members — Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) — is one of the main topics on the Economic Leaders' Week agenda. It is viewed as an alternative to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which excludes China and Russia.
The Philippines is not a member of the TPP free trade agreement, comprising 12 Pacific Rim countries, including the United States, Brunei, Chile, New Zealand, Singapore, Australia, Canada, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru and Vietnam.
