The first Conference of Non-Aligned Heads of State, at which 25 countries were represented, was convened at Belgrade in September 1961, largely through the initiative of Yugoslavian President Tito. He had expressed concern that an accelerating arms race might result in war between the Soviet Union and the USA.

Subsequent conferences involved ever-increasing participation by developing countries. The 1964 Conference in Cairo, with 47 countries represented, featured widespread condemnation of Western colonialism and the retention of foreign military installations. Thereafter, the focus shifted away from essentially political issues, to the advocacy of solutions to global economic and other problems.

Member States - From the original 25 countries that attended the first NAM Summit in 1961, membership has grown to 113 countries:

* Suspended

Observers - Within the framework of the need to promote the opening of the Movement to the contributions of other actors in the international arena, the current practice is to admit states as observers to the NAM meetings. Observers may attend and, with the Bureau's permission, address the Plenary of a Summit Conference or Ministerial meeting.

The following countries are observers of the Movement :

Interested states and non-governmental organizations are also invited as guests to the Summit and Ministerial Conferences. There is no permanent guest status and guests only attend the opening and closing ceremonies of the Conference and do not have the right to attend and participate in the deliberations.

The Summit Conference of Heads of State or Government is the highest decision-making authority of the Movement. The existing practice is to hold the Summit Conference every three years. (However, the last Summit was held in Durban, South Africa in 1998.) The Summit should be held at least one month before the regular Session of the UN General Assembly. The programme of the Summit includes a formal ceremony for the handing over of the Chair.

The decisions of a Summit should be action-orientated. Senior Officials and Ministerial meetings, which are preparatory to the Summit Conference, precede the Summit of the Heads of State or Government. The Summit has two committees, one for political issues and another for economic and social issues. In order to facilitate finalizing the drafts of the main documents, the committees begin their work informally during the Senior Officials meeting.

The XIII NAM Summit will be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 20-25 February 2003. It is expected to be attended by the Heads of State or Government of the NAM Member Countries as well as representatives of the Observer and Guest States as well as Observer and Guest Organizations.

The XIII Nam Summit will adopt two main documents, namely the Final Document, which will outline the common position of the NAM on various issues on its agenda, and the Kuala Lumpur Declaration, which will focus on continuing the revitalization of the NAM.

E. Philippine Participation

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will attend this year’s Summit, accompanied by Foreign Secretary Blas F. Ople. The XII NAM Summit in Durban, South Africa in 1998 was attended by then Senate President Pro Tempore Ople as Special Envoy of the President of the Philippines.

The Philippines and Malaysia established diplomatic relations on 18 May 1964. Bilateral relations have been cordial but had been prevented from reaching its full potential due to the question of Sabah.

In recent years, bilateral relations assumed a new sense of vibrancy following the visit of former President Fidel V. Ramos to Kuala Lumpur in January 1993, Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad’s visits to Manila in February 1994 and February 1998, and the Yang di Pertuan Agong’s (King of Malaysia) visit to Manila in June 1995.

The discussions between former President Ramos and Prime Minister Mahathir resulted in the establishment of the Philippines-Malaysia Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation which has met four times.

The Philippines and Malaysia have concluded a number of bilateral agreements such as the agreements on anti-smuggling, taxation, air services, among others. Other bilateral agreements are presently being worked out by the two countries, e.g. Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Cooperation in Health Matters, MOU in the Field of Education, MOU on Information Cooperation, MOU on Tourism Cooperation, MOU on Fisheries, Investment Guarantee Agreement. The two countries are also collaborating on the establishment of an agreement on joint oil spill response. The Philippines is also working out the possibility of establishing an agreement on trafficking in women and children with Malaysia.

Highlights of Philippine-Malaysia Bilateral Relations

Political

The significant developments which served to enhance relations between the Philippines and Malaysia includes the working visit of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad to Manila in February 1998, the attendance of the Malaysian Foreign Minister at the June 12 celebration of the Philippine Centennial Year in Manila, the Philippine chairmanship of ASEAN, the APEC Summit Meeting which provided the opportunity for then newly-elected President Joseph Ejercito Estrada to visit Malaysia and enabling the two leaders to hold their first bilateral meeting, and the hosting by Malaysia of the 4^th RP-Malaysia Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation Meeting (JCM) in March 2000, after almost four years since the last meeting of the JCM was held in Manila in May 1996.

Within the ASEAN framework, the Philippines and Malaysia cooperated in finding immediate as well as long-term solutions to the Asian financial crisis. Prime Minister Mahathir during the early part of 1998 made a round of the ASEAN capitals to discuss with other leaders possible global, regional and bilateral measures to bring the crisis to a halt. These visits, without a doubt, not only contributed to the strengthening of ASEAN solidarity, but also improved bilateral ties between ASEAN member countries, including Malaysia and the Philippines.

The establishment of temporary offices in Sabah and Labuan in support of the Regularization Program in 1997 and the continuing interest of the Philippine Government in providing passport and consular services to more than 500,000 Filipinos in Sabah in 1998 was welcomed by the Malaysian authorities. This endeavor helped to alleviate the problem of illegal Filipino immigrants in that state. More importantly, the Philippine Embassy’s participation in the implementation of the Regularization Program opened new avenues and opportunities for normalizing economic as well as political relations between Sabah and Mindanao authorities. To a limited degree, this initiative of the Embassy had a positive effect on the Malaysian Government’s treatment and attitude towards Filipino workers in Malaysia, both legal and illegal. To date, the Embassy regularly sends consular teams to Sabah to cater to the needs of Filipinos in the area.

Relations between the Philippines and Malaysia dipped to an all time low towards the end of 1998 with the strong Philippine reaction to the sacking and arrest of Malaysia’s former Deputy Prime Ministers Anwar Ibrahim which Malaysia found unacceptable. However, relations have considerably improved since then.

Economic Relations

Bilateral trade relations have expanded significantly during the past five years, with exports growing at a higher rate than imports. A major development in 1998 was the reversal of the trade balance in favor of the Philippines. Since then, the Philippines continues to enjoy a favorable trade balance with Malaysia. Average growth rate (1996-2000) was 14.07% for total trade. For the same period, exports grew by an average of 18.98% while imports grew by 9.27%.

BILATERAL MERCHANDISE TRADE (Value in US$ million)

Trade relations continues to surge ahead with total trade increasing to US$2.518B in 2000 from US$2.457B in 1990, for an increase of US$61.05M or 2.48%. The Philippines’ top export product to Malaysia in 2000 was semi conductor devices, with sales reaching US$952.83M (69.19% of total exports). Other top exports are: parts of IC & micro assemblies; machine parts & accessories; finished electrical & electronic machinery & parts; and crude coconut oil.

TOP PHILIPPINE EXPORTS TO MALAYSIA

(January – December 1999/2000)

Value in US$ million

Although sales in electronics suffered a downturn in 2000, it continues to pace Philippine exports, with sales reaching US$ 1.176B in 2000 (reflecting a decrease of US$138.53M from 1999). However, electronics still represents the bulk of Philippine exports to Malaysia, accounting for 85.42% of total export sales in 2000.

For the first four months of 2001 (January – April), semiconductor devices remained the top export item, followed by machine parts & accessories; parts of IC & micro assemblies; finished electrical & electronic machinery & parts; and crude coconut oil. Compared to the same period last year, the value of export trade decreased by 18.71%, with exports of semi conductor devices decreasing by a substantial 41.74%.

TOP PHILIPPINE EXPORTS TO MALAYSIA

(January – April 2000/2001)

Value in US$ million

Philippine imports from Malaysia inched up to US$1.141B in 2000, from US$978.45M in 1999. This represented an increase of US$163.23M or 16.68%. Top imports were electronic integrated circuits and micro assemblies that accounted for US$129.66M or 11.36% of total imports. Coming in second was petroleum oil with a share of 9.64% of total imports or US$ 110.08M. Other top exports were: parts of IC & micro assemblies; liquefied petroleum gas; and materials for the manufacture of semi-conductor devices.

TOP PHILIPPINE IMPORTS TO MALAYSIA

(January – December 1999/2000)

Value in US$ million

For the first four months of 2001 (January – April), materials for the manufacture of semi-conductor devices were the top import item. This was followed by: petroleum oil; liquefied petroleum gas; machineries parts & accessories; and parts of IC & micro-assemblies.

TOP PHILIPPINE IMPORTS TO MALAYSIA

(January – April 2000/2001)

Value in US$ million

The Bureau of Export Trade Promotion lists the following Philippine products for promotion to Malaysia:

1. Halal Certified Product

1.1) Beauty and Healthcare Products

1.2) Food Products

               2. Information technology Services

               3. GTH

                  3.1) Articles Made of Paper

                  3.2) Ceramics/Stoneware

               4. Wood and Iron Furniture

               5. Marble

               6.Construction Materials and Construction Services

Prospects for Philippine Products

Admittedly, Malaysia is a difficult market to penetrate given the existing direction of the Malaysian economy and their import requirements vis-�-vis Philippine products for export. There is a certain degree of parallelism between the import requirements of Malaysia and that of the Philippines. Malaysia in its desire to go up the technological ladder relies more on developed and industrialized nations for its imports. These consist mainly of high technology machinery that it could use to upgrade and support its manufacturing industry. This is manifested by its efforts to relocate labor intensive assembly based industries to countries such as Vietnam and the Philippines and replace this with high technology industries. The Philippines in turn would want to follow the footsteps of Malaysia by initially developing its manufacturing industry that it could later shift to high technology based industries.

A glance at the product lines being imported by Malaysia and that being exported by the Philippines would indicate the difficulty of supplying the former’s major import requirements. The bulk of Philippine exports consist mostly of products assembled from parts imported on consignment basis and the traditional imports consisting mostly of resource based products like crude coconut oil. Thus, we could aptly describe our market niche as secondary. With the Philippines unable to compete for the major import requirements (e.g., electric machinery, transistor valves, electronic component parts and microcircuits, telecommunication equipment and parts, general industrial machinery, and machines for special industries) of Malaysia, or until such time that we would be in the position, it is a natural recourse for us to vie for the secondary import requirements (e.g. garments, articles made of paper, processed food, and some resource based product such as crude coconut oil).

1. Memorandum of Understanding on the Establishment of RP-Malaysia Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation

(signed in Kuala Lumpur on 22 July 1993)

2. Memorandum of Understanding on Defense Cooperation

(signed in Manila on 26 September 1994)

3. Memorandum of Agreement on the Establishment of the Turtle Island Heritage Protected Area (TIHPA)

(signed in Manila on 31 May 1996)

4. Air Services Agreement (ASA)

(signed in Manila on 12 April 1987. Amended by a Confidential Memorandum of Understanding signed in Malaysia on 29 November 1996)

5. Agreement for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with Respect to Taxes on Income

(signed in Manila on 27 April 1982)

6. Anti-Smuggling Cooperation Agreement

(signed in Kuala Lumpur on 1 September 1967, Amended by a Second Protocol signed in Kuala Lumpur on 29 March 1995)

7. Agreement on the Abolition of Visa Requirements and Waiver of Visa Fees in Certain Cases

(signed in Manila on 31 July 1962)

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The Council is composed of senior business executives from both countries and was established to promote on a regular basis cooperation between the business communities of the Philippines and Malaysia. The Council’s objectives are to identify and develop areas of cooperation between both countries’ private sectors; to encourage and develop further investment in both the Philippines and Malaysia; to encourage and develop trade links between both countries; to identify business opportunities, in particular small-and medium-sized enterprises; and to enhance networking, contacts, and exchange of information between the private sectors of both countries.

The Council is chaired by MBC Chairman Ricardo J. Romulo for the Philippines and Dick Chan, Chairman of Metroplex in Malaysia.

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The presence of Filipino workers in Malaysia, despite the de facto ban on domestic helpers a few years back and the retrenchment of professional, technical and skilled workers, remain in certain sectors of the economy. Though the recruitment of Filipino workers has been reduced, preference for them by companies and employers has not diminished. In March 1988, the Immigration Department estimated legal Filipino workers in Malaysia at 83,000.

There is an estimated total of 636,544 Filipinos in Malaysia out of which 83,000 are Overseas Filipino Workers, who have been, or will be issued Foreign Workers Identity Cards by the Immigration Department. In addition, a total of 130,000 Filipinos are considered by the local government to be legal workers. In Sabah alone, it is broken down to 70,000 regularized Filipinos with work permits and passports and 60,000 refugees who are authorized to work in companies of their choice with freedom to change employment without securing prior clearances from government authorities.

Filipinos in Malaysia continue to work in different fields. Still the highest number of Filipino workers are in the service industry, e.g. hotel workers and domestic helpers. Despite the downturn in the construction industry, with the suspension of various projects due to the recent economic crisis, services of Filipino workers were retained in view of their expertise in the field of engineering and architecture. Nurses are very much around, as they are highly acceptable service providers in the medical field. Musicians are much in demand but the authorities have placed certain restrictions on their performances. Other Filipinos are working in highly specialized positions as bank executives, meteorologists, university lecturers, aircraft inspectors, consultants, and others

Filipino Services Secretariat (FSS)

Sixteen years ago, in 1984. Women migrant workers from the Philipines had been coming to Peninsular Malaysia (West Coast) to work as domestic helpers in middle-class homes, mainly in the Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya (known as Klang Valley) areas. There were some 4,000-6,000 workers during this period. The presence of these migrant workers and the need for assistance, especially with regards to pastoral care, made the Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur establish the "Archdiocesan Ministry for Working Filipinos" (AMWF) in 1988 under the initiative of Archbishop Anthony Soter Fernandez. Presently, the Ministry is known as the ‘Filipino Services Secretariat (FSS)’ under the National Office for Human Development (NOHD), which operates under the Church and is in close coordination and partnership with the Philippine Embassy and other related non-governmental organizations.

The NOHD is mandated to promote a greater involvement of the Church in areas of charity, development, justice and peace. Under the Archdiocesan Human Development Office, among the Ministries, is the Migrants’ Ministry under which the Filipino Services Secretariat operates. The various Filipino Ministries under the FSS are found in about 18 Parishes throughout Malaysia.

The Migrants’ Ministry, just like the NOHD, undertakes various spiritual activities, counselling, legal assistance, advocacy, education, formation, information, social and cultural activities for the migrants. For proper linkages and networking, the ministries operates under the parishes which have corresponding bodies for coordination. Various parish-based Filipino Ministries undertake, faith formation, socio-cultural activities, leadership training and workshops, skills training and peer counselling. Legal matters are referred to the NOHD and/or the Labor Office or Assistance to Nationals (ATN) Office of the Philippine Embassy. Each parish-based ministry has its own set of Officers and Committees entrusted to carry out various plans and programmes that they have set for the year as integrated into the Parish Calendar of Activities.

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