PBBM hopes to finalize pending business, government deals during his 3rd US trip

MANILA – President Marcos left for his third visit to the United States on Tuesday night hoping to bring home a number of finalized deals on key national agendas.

In his departure speech, Marcos said he was looking forward to witnessing the signing of deals with other governments and business deals “which have been under negotiation” while he participates in the 30th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders’ Meeting in San Francisco, California.

“On the sidelines of the APEC Summit, I expect to witness the signing of a number of government-to-government, public-private, and business agreements, which have been under negotiation over the past several months,” Marcos said.

These deals, he said, cover priority sectors, such as nuclear energy, artificial intelligence to support weather forecasting, health sciences, particularly cancer research, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention; pharmaceutical manufacturing; and satellite connectivity.

He also noted that, in his participation in the APEC summit, he will bring the Philippines’ aspiration for a peaceful Asia-Pacific.

“I bring with me your hopes and aspirations for a peaceful and prosperous Asia-Pacific region where we live. This year, the U.S. chairmanship of APEC set the cross-cutting themes of sustainability, inclusiveness, and resilience as our priority work so that we can build a resilient and interconnected region that advances broad-based economic prosperity, enable an innovative environment to foster a sustainable future, and affirm an equitable and inclusive future for all.  For every single Filipino,” he said.

The President stressed that his constant participation in APEC summits aims to “prioritize and secure beneficial trade and investment, quality and green jobs, and human development and poverty alleviation.”

He said he will be engaging with the leaders of economies of the Asia-Pacific region to agree on how to achieve food and energy security, economic inclusion of our micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), women, indigenous people, and other segments whose economic potential remains to be unlocked through digitalization and innovation, and sustainable development and addressing the climate change crisis.

The Chief Executive is also expected to meet with business leaders and hold roundtable discussions on the APEC sidelines to invite investments and seek business opportunities, promote exports, and discuss the country’s economic agenda.

He disclosed that he will be delivering keynote remarks on “intentional equity in sustainability” to share the Philippine experience in ensuring inclusivity to greening the economy.

“There will be several engagements with private sector representatives from the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) to discuss how we can use public-private partnership to fulfill our agenda in innovative and sustainable development, finance, and economic and business reform,” he said.

“This also marks my third visit to the United States as part of our continuing efforts to further reinforce our already strong bond, and a follow through to my official working visit in Washington, D.C. last May, where I underscored the need for forging closer economic ties and ensuring that our bilateral relationship works for our people,” he added.

From San Francisco, Marcos will be going on working visits to Los Angeles, California and Honolulu, Hawaii, where he will also meet with the Filipino community.

California and Hawaii have the largest concentration of Filipinos and Filipino-Americans, and are home to almost half of the 4.2 million Filipinos in the United States.

Meanwhile, Vice President Sara Duterte will be the government’s caretaker while Marcos is in the US.