Reyes said the recent first Polish Trade Exhibit held at the World Trade Center in Pasay City serves as a doorway for Poland for it to gain a foothold in particular niches in the Asean region.

He said it also served as a good venue to strengthen the bilateral relationship of the Philippines and Poland as it fosters understanding and goodwill between the two nations.

In his message during the opening of the exhibit, Reyes noted that trade, indeed, is at the very foundation of human civilization as free trade links nations together in time of peace. In fact, he said, trade, coupled with a virtual tsunami of technological advances, has so transformed the world that we are now witnessing the homogenization of world economic, cultural and political systems.

"It has even been given a new game and is now the theme of almost all discussions on world affairs - globalization," according to Reyes.

"With globalization, countries are no longer separated by time zones and oceans, globalization has dissolved national boundaries and has made countries more interdependent. More than any other period in history, globalization today has made countries need one another more for peace and progress," the DILG secretary said.

But he added that "the path toward reaching the promises of globalization is not a yellow brick road, and it is strewn with challenges and pitfalls that can more developing countries deeper into abject poverty." He said it is, thus, imperative for countries to form partnerships to help one another hurdle the difficulties ahead and help one another climb aboard the growth train.

Having said this, Reyes made several suggestions on how both Philippines and Poland can reciprocally benefit from trade and globalization.

First, he said, Philippines and Poland must identify the key areas and aspects of economic interdependence and build upon these linkages for the two countries’ mutual benefit.