President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. highlighted on Tuesday the importance of a stronger partnership between Indonesia and the Philippines, both in the public and private sectors, to explore more business opportunities in various areas as Southeast Asia recovers from the pandemic.
President Marcos particularly pushed for increased tie-ups in agriculture, energy, digitalization, and supply chain during the roundtable meeting with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations-Business Advisory Council (ASEAN-BAC), attended by chief executive officers(CEOs) of various businesses and corporations.
“I cannot say now how happy I am to be able to have met with you, some of you again, and to have this opportunity so that we can hopefully explore many areas that we have really not spoken about before but are particularly relevant when it comes to partnerships between our two countries both in the private and the public sectors,” President Marcos said during the roundtable of the ASEAN-BAC with invited CEOs.
“We have adopted a policy of a very close coordination and cooperation with the private sector and that I think is also the element that will add to the possibilities to excel.”
The President also reassured Indonesian businesses and investors of the Philippine government’s commitment to continue supporting foreign investments “in the ways that we can help one another and that would be mutually beneficial to you – the groups that you represent and your country.”
The President mentioned the current thrust of his administration, particularly its focus on developing those priority areas.
In the case of the Philippine agricultural sector, he said it is still struggling to recover from the big effects of diseases such as avian influenza and swine fever.
Another focus of the government is energy, especially on shifting from traditional energy sources to renewables.
“And we are of course continuing our infrastructure buildup which is the most important and absolutely critical in any – if we are to develop and industrialize larger parts of the economy,” he said.
“Of course, digitalization is given. We all have… that you will be working and to make things better, to be more productive — the key is always to make people more productive, make our economic activities more productive.”
These are the elements that his government is trying to balance. The country could move forward by working with ASEAN, especially on improving physical connectivity, he said. PND
