Duterte to help promote economic growth; meeting with Trump set

PRESIDENT Duterte has embarked on helping promote inclusive economic growth and development of small businesses in the Asia Pacific and ASEAN region.

Economics takes center stage at regional summits in Vietnam and in the Philippines.

*** Duterte will meet with United States President Donald Trump to discuss the North Korean nuclear threat and other security and related PH-US concerns.

A meeting of two tough-talking leaders augurs well for peace and greater understanding.

*** The Philippine president is attending the 25th Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Vietnam (November 9-11) together with 20 other leaders, including US President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin, China President Xi Jinping, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

The annual talk focuses on facilitating trade and investment liberalization, business facilitation, and economic and technical cooperation. *** “APEC is one of the key regional groupings that the Philippines participates in to broaden our advocacies and growth concerns or promotions in the region,” Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Leo Herrera-Lim said.

“In the 2017 APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting, the key priorities of the Philippines would be full participation of the micro, small, and medium enterprises in the global economy, sustainable and inclusive growth, connectivity, and human resources development,” he added.

*** Lim pointed out that the government has placed inclusive growth and pro-poor agenda as the “hallmarks of its development plan.”

“This ties into bringing MSMEs into the global value chain,” he said.

*** Duterte’s official activities include participation to the APEC CEO summit at the Da Nang Exhibition and Convention Center and a keynote address on “Regional Economic Integration – Lessons Learnt from ASEAN” during the summit session.

The President and other leaders will attend today a dialogue with the APEC Business Advisory Council, followed by the APEC-ASEAN informal dialogue at Furama Resort. *** The APEC Summit formally opens tomorrow (Saturday) with the economic leaders holding its first retreat on “Growth Inclusion and Sustainable Employment in the Digital Age” at the Intercontinental Da Nang Resort.

The APEC leaders to focus on “Fostering Shared Future” and “New Drivers for Regional Trade, Investment, and Connectivity.”

*** Pres. Duterte, on the sidelines of the Vietnam summit, is expected to meet Pres. Trump for the first time since their historic elections.

“While I understand there will be bilateral talks, I don’t think it will be as extensive as his bilateral talks here in Manila, plus the fact that he (Trump) will be spending a whole — an extra day in Manila,” Presidential spokesman Harry Roque Jr. said.

*** “So I expect that they would have more opportunity to interact with each other here in Manila,” Roque said referring to ASEAN summit in Manila next week to be attended by Trump.

Trump-Duterte meeting coming soon.

*** Sources said the meeting between the two presidents is expected to zero in on the North Korean issue and US-PH security and bilateral trade relations.

Time for US-PH relations to improve and smoothly move on.