PHL JOINS G7’S INFRA AND INVESTMENT PARTNERS

THE Philippines was named one of the beneficiaries of Group of Seven’s flagship infrastructure initiative for low- and middle-income countries.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo announced the country’s inclusion in the“partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investments” (PGII) during the visit of US State Secretary Antony Blinken in Manila Tuesday.

Blinken’s visit to Manila is the second during the administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.

Since then, relations between Manila and Washington D.C. have been on “hyperdrive” not only in defense and security but also on the economic front, Manalo and Blinken said in a joint press conference.

PHL as PGII partner

THE Philippines’s top envoy said he welcomes the US decision to include the Philippines among its partner countries of PGII.

Since 2022, leaders and the private sector of seven of the world’s largest developed economies have been mobilizing hundreds of billions of dollars in financing high quality infrastructure projects.

The PGII has been touted as an alternative to the Belt and Road Initiative of China, infusing multitrillion-dollar investments in infrastructure projects to Asia and Africa.

Asidefromus,theotherg7members are France, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, Italy and Canada.

Manalo said among the projects that the US has committed to finance is the Clark-subic-batangas PGII Corridor, which aims to transform Luzon as a major transshipment and logistics hub.

“This aligns with our call for a bigger American footprint and infrastructure projects in the Philippines. It will also support the ecosystem necessary to bolster productivity in the country and our further integration into regional supply chains,”manalo said during the press conference with Blinken.

G7 aims to mobilize around US$600 billion worth of projects under PGII over the next five years. Last year, the US identified infrastructure projects in Brazil, Indonesia, Ecuador, Romania, Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia and other African countries.

The US hopes these high-quality infrastructure developments will “also advance share national security interests” among like-minded states.