[Unofficial transcript]

Thank you very much. Good morning everyone.

Distinguished members of the media, it's a great pleasure to have this opportunity, during my participation in the 2nd Forum on Migration and Development, to be with you.

I am honoured to be in Manila today and to have taken part in the opening of the 2nd Global Forum on Migration and Development, which brings together more than 163 countries across the globe to address the very important issues surrounding migration, including understanding and developing its benefits.

I thank the Government and people of the Philippines for hosting this Forum, amid the emerging harsh economic difficulties throughout the world.

Today, there is tremendous appreciation for the benefits that migration brings to both countries of origin and countries of destination, and to migrants themselves who can be the engine in advancing development and a positive force for cross-cultural understanding.

We know that human mobility can make our economies more efficient, if the right skills reach the right places at the right time. The challenge is, therefore, how to best draw the greatest possible development benefits from it.

We also know that migration can and should be a tool to help us out of the economic crisis, and it is only with the cooperation of the policymakers and politicians, that this will be possible. The underlying forces that have led 200 million people to cross international borders will continue, and we also must confront the challenges and fears it can generate. It is this context that the protection of the rights of migrants assumes.

Much has been accomplished since the idea of the Forum was born just over three years ago, on the way to the High-Level Dialogue conducted by the General Assembly in 2006.

Today, the need for labour migration is self evident and we can build on those exchanges by discussing how to protect the rights of migrants, foster opportunities for future migration, and improve policy coherence through partnerships.

This Global Forum, bringing together stakeholders to promote new ways of making migration work for development, can play a crucial role as it aims to foster cooperation so that we can draw the most from the phenomenon of human mobility. I look forward to the outcomes of this second meeting.

The partnership and mutual commitments enshrined in this Forum exist to support our cooperative work towards development. Together, we can fulfil our common vision of becoming a free, secure, stable and prosperous world.

Finally, I would like to thank the Government and the people of the Philippines for the warm welcome they have extended for my visit and to the United Nations as a whole.

I am extremely grateful to the Philippines for the strong support to the United Nations in many areas, including UN peacekeeping. Today, nearly 700 Philippine military and police personnel are in the field, serving the cause of peace. I am also very pleased at the new offer to send an additional 100 police officers to Darfur.

The Philippines has been a very engaged partner in international affairs and I look forward to further strengthening the already close relations between the Philippines and the United Nations. The United Nations counts on the Philippines as an enduring partner in facing ever-more complex global challenges.

I would be happy to take your questions after remarks by Undersecretary Hon. Conejos.

Maraming salamat po.