HOST. President Benigno Aquino III agrees to host the 2014 WEF East Asia Summit. Photo by Malacañang bureau

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines has accepted the offer to host the 2014 East Asia Summit, a gathering to discuss and shape the region's future in the run up to the annual World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos, Switzerland.

President Benigno Aquino confirmed this to Manila-based reporters on Saturday, January 26, in Davos where he is attending the annual WEF gathering.

"We agreed to host the East Asia Summit for the WEF in 2014," he said, adding that the event may happen in July and that the attendees may enjoy the Philippines' warmer climate.

He stressed how the 2014 Summit would benefit the Philippines' phenomenal economic growth, which has already caught the attention of Europe’s political and economic leaders.

"It puts us at the center stage of the world map for that period, which is something like July or so. The details will have to be worked out, it was offered to us and I accepted to hosting the event," he said.

Burma is hosting the 2013 Asian WEF summit, taking over from Thailand, the host in 2012.

He said the event would probably be bigger than the Asian Development Bank (ADB) annual meeting held in Manila in May 2012.

He said his Davos meetings with other world leaders and with CEOs of multinational firms had been “very successful.”

“We were able to touch base with the so many other leaders of the country, of various countries … I think there’s a universal consensus both by the participants and by the Cabinet members present, our business sector, that it was a very successful meeting,” he said. - Rappler.com