The APPFI Board of Trustees held its annual meeting on January 25 to review activities for the past year and set directions for 2017. The meeting was presided over by Chairman of the Board Raphael Lotilla and was held at Jinjiang Inn in Makati. All board directors and members participated in the meeting.
Dr. Aileen Baviera presented the annual report to the board, recalling the roundtable discussions, research projects, and the symposium held in August 2016. She also reported on the people-to-people exchanges with Chinese think tanks and researchers. APPFI’s online presence through the website, newsletter, and social media was also discussed.
For 2017, APPFI is producing a short video on Philippines-China relations based on the symposium and roundtables. It also plans to launch the Track Two Observer, a database on events and exchanges relevant to the Philippines’ Asia Pacific relations, to be populated by experts and analysts who shall be invited to become members. Aside from continuing remaining tasks from 2016, the board approved proposed 2017 projects such as delegation visits and research on the development of an independent Philippine Foreign Policy. There was also discussion on how APPFI may develop as a think tank and its readiness to extend its scope beyond the China program to other issues relating to Asia Pacific regional affairs, strategic studies, and conflict resolution.