APEC hosting bolsters Iloilo’s global city aspiration

ILOILO CITY (PIA) – The hosting of the Asia Pacific Economic Conference (APEC) ministerial meetings in 2015 is a good starting point in realizing the development of Iloilo as a global city.

In the 3rd Western Visayas Business Forum held recently at Hotel Del Rio here, National Competitiveness Council ( NCC) Private Sector Co- Chairman Guillermo Luz said hosting the APEC meetings provides opportunities for infrastructure and investments.

Iloilo City has been assigned to host two meetings by the APEC National Organizing Committee (NOC). The city will host the Small Medium Enterprises (SME) ministerial meeting on September 21-25, 2015 and the Food Security Week (High Level Policy Dialogue on Food Security and the Blue Economy) on September 28 to October 6, 2015.

However, Luz stressed that it is important that preparations to go global should be made beyond APEC.

“This early, we should be thinking of what can we do to make Iloilo City prosper beyond APEC,” he said.

Luz said that in terms of competitiveness, Iloilo ranks sixth among 122 cities in the country in the latest round of the Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Index (CMCI) conducted by the NCC.

According to the NCC, cities and municipalities are ranked on their competitiveness based on an overall competitiveness score which is the sum of scores on three main factors, namely, economic dynamism, government efficiency and infrastructure.

“Iloilo City is competing with other cities for investments, trade, services, tourists, image and brand,” said Luz.

He added that the city must continue tracking local competitiveness indicators, formulate programs to improve competitiveness, and engage in investment promotion activities to attract investors and create new jobs.