The two-day summit that President Benigno Aquino 3rd is attending in Laos this week is not expected to result in any groundbreaking agreements.

Instead, the 49 leaders of European and Asia-Pacific countries who are attending the meet will very likely tackle the pressing economic issues bedeviling the former.

Unlike previous leaders’ summits attended by the Philippines, President Aquino will not play the role of a poor cousin sitting at the table of rich kin. Instead, he will represent a country and a region that is experiencing and enjoying the best of times.

With the economies of so many countries floundering, the Philippines can claim to be one of the few in the world that expects continued growth for the short- and mid-term.

Not bad for a country that had often been referred to as the “sick man of Asia.”

Indeed, it can be said that the Republic of the Philippines has finally earned a level of respectability not seen in years, if not decades. The last time that the country stood this tall was during the heyday of the Ramos administration when the Philippines attained the status of a tiger cub economy.

Now, after two years as chief executive, Mr. Aquino’s administration appears to be following the same path. In the global economy, the country has actually become a net lender.

When Mr. Aquino speaks, therefore, he will not do so with a small and insignificant voice, but as an equal to any leader attending the summit.

In fact, the Philippines is in good company. It is a founding member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), and is among the member-nations that the Asian Development Bank (ADB) counts as “some of the most dynamic and fastest growing in the world.” This enviable position is likely to be the case for the next decade or more, according to the ADB.

As for its next door neighbors, China and Japan are showing signs of regaining momentum after both Asian nations were shaken by a slowdown in manufacturing for the former, and the effects of a deadly earthquake and tsunami for the latter.

It may be said that the “Asia-Pacific century” forecast a couple of decades ago has now become reality, and the Philippines is right in the middle of the region’s revved up economies.

The country may even be considered a big brother to the newer Asean member-countries such as Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam and summit host Laos.

The summit in the Laotian capital of Vientiane will most likely see little more than an agreement to strengthen the economic and financial cooperation between and among the 49 nations in attendance.

Number one on summit agenda
The Laos summit is expected to tackle the festering euro-zone crisis. The European Union’s financial markets appear to have settled down lately, but there is no guarantee that their crisis is anywhere near over.

Luckily, the Philippines has not been severely affected by the reeling economies of such Western European countries as Greece, Spain and Ireland. This is because the Philippines’ biggest trading partners are the U.S., Japan, and China, with the EU coming in at a distant fourth.

Still, the debt crisis in Western Europe casts a pall on global trade. With so many unsettled issues, the EU may only be experiencing the calm before another big fiscal storm.

Unless resolved soonest, it is expected to have a domino effect on the rest of the world. At worst, a global recession could occur.

Not to belabor the point, but even this worst-case scenario is not expected to seriously hurt the Philippines.

What the Philippines, as well as Japan and South Korea, would want to see discussed in the Laos summit is China’s souring relations with them because of the various territorial disputes that have gone from bad to worse this year. But this will almost certainly not happen because China is changing its leadership very soon.

The Laos summit will be the last major diplomatic event to be attended by China’s outgoing premiere Wen Jiabao, before he retires.

Thus, while President Aquino may want to bring up the issue of Chinese incursions in Panatag shoal, Wen is no longer in the position to commit his country to anything.