PRESIDENT Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos, Jr. said several companies from the United States are now considering establishing a presence in the country due to their “optimism” on its economic growth.
Marcos made the announcements after arriving at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Sunday morning from his six-day trip in the US last week.
During the visit, he held four roundtable discussions with American businesses in a bid to bring in more investments into the country, particularly in the sectors of information technology-business process management, digital infrastructure, garments and apparel, as well as industry and infrastructure.
“I was joined by the economic managers and other Cabinet members in brainstorming with these US companies, some already present and others intending to be in the Philippines,” Marcos said in his arrival speech.
“We identified the opportunities and challenges to achieving our common objectives of growth and development in various areas,” he added.
Investment footprint
Among the companies which met with Marcos are Boeing, NuScale Power, WasteFuel, Cargill, Procter & Gamble, and Sutherland Global Services.
The President also met with the US-Association of Southeast Asian Nation Business Council and the US Chamber of Commerce.
Some of the companies gave “candid and constructive comments,” which Marcos said his administration will address and will hopefully translate to business agreements.
Among the issues raised by businesses are documentation, regulatory environment, and delays in the bureaucracy. “There will be, I believe, good news to share in the next few months, particularly in terms of their plans to expand and further broaden their investment footprint in our country,” Marcos said.
As of press time, Malacañang has yet to disclose the amount of new investments, which resulted for the President’s trip to the US.
Stronger UN presence
Aside from business opportunities, Marcos also reported on diplomatic initiatives in the US, particularly his speech at the 77th session of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly, during his visit in the US from September 18 to 24.
In his UN address, he raised “global issues that require a united global action,” such as climate change, rising food prices, rapid technological change, the peaceful resolution of international disputes, the need to protect the vulnerable sectors of our society such as migrants, and ending all forms of prejudice.
He said he also met with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to express the country’s intent of “strengthening” its role in the UN.
“I expressed interest in enhancing our role in UN peacekeeping operations, especially in the areas such as the Middle East where we have a large concentration of OFWs,” Marcos said.
The President earlier disclosed the country’s bid to secure a seat in the UN Security Council.
He said he also invited Guterres to personally visit the country in the near future.
International position
Marcos also discussed his formal and informal bilateral meetings with the US and Japan and other key partners to tackle the country’s priority issues on food and energy security, and climate change,
“Our discussions were very productive, and the members of the Cabinet will now work to operationalize the many areas of cooperation that we identified,” Marcos said.
Last Saturday, the President also spoke before the Asia Society Headquarters in New York, where he reiterated the country’s position of treating the US as one of its closest allies particularly for its defense and armed forces modernization.
On the issue of the country’s territorial dispute with China in the West Philippine Sea, he stressed it should be addressed through diplomacy.
He also pushed for the peaceful resolution of the tensions in the Taiwan Strait, Korean Peninsula as well as Ukraine.
The visit to the US was Marcos’s third foreign trip after Indonesia and Singapore since assuming the Presidency.