PCO photo
President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. will be bringing to the Philippines more than $1.3 billion worth of investment pledges following his recent five-day official visit to the United States, the Palace said.
A Palace news release said the president had met with numerous American business groups and was able to encourage them to expand their operations or create new ventures in the Philippines.
“They are all committed to be part of this development journey that we have embarked upon. We will return to the Philippines with over $1.3 billion in investment pledges that have the potential to create around 6,700 new jobs for Filipinos within the country,” it quoted Marcos Jr. as saying.
The president also expressed confidence that these investment pledges from American investors were a sign of trust and confidence in doing business in the Philippines, seeing the country as an investment destination.
“Together, we will be working on addressing some of our key economic challenges, particularly food, energy, and health security, digital connectivity, and the cross-cutting issues of climate change and pandemic preparedness,” he said.
In his policy speech delivered at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, the president highlighted the potential for growth and benefits for both the Philippines and the US through strengthened partnerships in areas such as digital infrastructure, food security, health, and renewable energy.
“The increased deployment of clean technologies comes with an increase in demand for inputs of crucial energy resource minerals, including cobalt, nickel, which just happens to be very abundant in the Philippines,” he said. John Ezekiel J. Hirro