Good morning, everyone. Allow me to just greet VP Sara; former President GMA; House Speaker Martin Romualdez; members of the Cabinet that are here sending us all to the other members who are joining us for this trip to Davos; and of course it will not be complete without my greeting of our First Lady, Louise Araneta-Marcos; and I think the – District – Representative, yes of course, and our good mayor, Mayor Imelda Calixto-Rubiano; AFP Chief of Staff Andy Centino; PNP Chief Jun Azurin; Philippine Coast Guard Admiral Artemio Abu; and fellow workers in government; ladies and gentlemen, good morning.

Thank you for seeing me off today as I and our economic team depart for Davos, Switzerland to take part in the 2023 Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF).

I look forward to my inaugural participation to the WEF in Davos as I am joined by the Philippine delegation composed of government officials and business leaders, on the kind invitation of Professor Klaus Schwab, founder and Chair Emeritus of the World Economic Forum, whom I had occasion to meet in person at the sidelines of both the ASEAN and APEC meetings in Phnom Penh and Bangkok respectively in November of last year.

This is the first in-person meeting of the World Economic Forum since 2020 and before the world came to a standstill because of the pandemic. As such, our theme of “Cooperation in a Fragmented World” is quite apropos. We will highlight the steps the Philippines is taking to mend the fissures of such fragmentation, especially in our country but certainly in partnership with our friends, allies, and partners around the world.

Related to this is the need to collectively bolster and reinforce our post-pandemic economic recovery efforts by addressing the challenges we face posed by rising food prices, the impact of conflict in other parts of the world, and the continuing existential threat posed by climate change.

I have resolved to take this opportunity to exchange views on such pressing issues with other government leaders, policy makers, business executives and entrepreneurs, civic society advocates and academic experts.

The Philippines is also being given a unique opportunity to highlight the significant economic gains we have achieved in the last part of the year as attested to by upward growth projections of the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank.

The World Economic Forum is hosting a Country Strategy Dialogue for us where we are given the opportunity to promote the Philippines as leader and driver of growth and a gateway to the Asia-Pacific region – one that is open for business – ever ready to complement regional and global expansion plans of both foreign and Philippine-based enterprises anchored on the competent and well-educated Filipino workers, managers, and professionals.

I will draw attention to our efforts at building resilient infrastructure that bolsters our efforts to reinforce robust and resilient supply chains, ensure food security including its critical interlinkages with health and nutrition, while furthering climate-friendly, clean and green energy to power the Philippine economy.

Moreover, I will share our experience as a model for managing – with our global partners – the disruptive and transformative impact of COVID.

I intend to share our efforts in saving both lives and livelihoods, as well as the people-centered next steps that we are taking to ensure that we are ready to meet the lingering effects of the pandemic and address the occurrence of the next one.

I look forward to meeting with various government and business leaders at the WEF and strengthen our partnerships in the years to come.

Thank you. Mabuhay po tayong lahat.

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