Marcos leaves for APEC meet in Thailand
PRESIDENT Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. embarked on another trip abroad on Wednesday, this time to participate in the 29th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders Meeting in Bangkok, Thailand.
In his departure statement delivered at the Villamor Air Base, the Chief Executive said his goal is to unlock economic potential, enable the country’s participation in the digital economy and advance sustainable development, as well as address the climate change crisis, among others, during the fourday gathering.
“APEC remains one of the Philippines’ prime platforms to engage the economies in the Asia-Pacific region. The importance of this region to us cannot be overstated,” he said.
“We will be engaging with the leaders of economies of the Asia-Pacific region to agree on how we can achieve food and energy [security]; safe and seamless crossborder passage of our seamen and our other Filipino workers; economic inclusion of our MSMEs (micro, small and medium
enterprises), women, Indigenous people, and other segments whose economic potential remain to be unlocked; digitalization and our participation in the digital economy; and the connectivity that must be achieved if we are going to take full advantage of that digitalization, sustainable development and, of course, that existential problem that we all face, the climate change crisis,” he added.
Among the face-to-face discussions the President is expected to attend is the panel discussion on “The Global Economy and the Future of APEC.” He is also one of the heads of states selected to speak at the annual gathering of top CEOs from the bloc.
Apart from attending the high-level
meetings, Marcos and first lady Louise “Liza” Araneta-Marcos will have an audience with King Maha Vajiralongkorn Phra Vajiraklaochaoyuhua and Queen Suthida Bajrasudhabimalalakshana along with the other APEC Leaders and their spouses.
The President likewise has scheduled meetings with Thai business leaders on the side where he is expected to make another pitch for the Philippines as an investment hub and discuss his administration’s economic agenda.
“Eighty-five percent of our trade is within this region, and that’s the reason why Filipino consumers have access to goods and services from this region, but more importantly, our farmers, our laborers, our businessmen and most importantly, our MSMEs are able to export their goods and services to the economies in this region,” he noted.
Bilateral meetings were also arranged for Marcos with some economic think tanks and fellow leaders to strategize strengthening their diplomatic relations.
“I hope to build upon the discussions that we had during the Asean Summit. There were many as I mentioned when I first arrived from Cambodia, from Phnom Penh; it is very clear that there are many areas of consensus between our countries in the Asia Pacific, Indo-Pacific region,” stated the President.
“And that is what I hope to build on. We have established that those are the concerns — the common concerns of all the leaders, of all the countries around the region,” he added.
Marcos will wrap up his trip by meeting the Filipino community before returning to the country on November 19.