PRESIDENT Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos, Jr. will push for greater international participation of local businesses and safe passage for seafarers affected by the pandemic, when he attends the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) Summit in Bangkok, Thailand next week.
In a press conference on Monday, Office of the Press Secretary (OPS) Officer-in-Charge Cheloy E. Velicaria-Garafil said Marcos will focus on economic-related matters during the Apec Economic Leaders’ Week on Nov. 16 to 19.
The Summit will be held face-to-face for the first time since 2018.
“The Apec is an opportunity for us to push for our economic agenda and priorities. These include the empowerment of our MSMEs (micro, small, and medium enterprise) and their inclusion in global value chains, recognition of the essential role of our maritime crews and seafarers in ensuring stable and resilient supply chains,” Garafil said.
Likewise, she said, the President will reiterate his call for food and energy security and a more robust international response to climate change, issues he has consistently advocated in almost all of his international engagements.
Bilateral talks
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Marcos is also expected to hold bilateral talks with other state leaders at the summit sidelines.
“The President is having bilateral meetings with six counterparts. The arrangements are still being finalized so I am not at liberty to disclose yet at this time which economies and leaders they are,” DFA Assistant Secretary Eric Gerardo E. Tamayo.
As of press time, Tamayo said the meeting will unlikely include Russian President Vladimir Putin and United States Vice President Kamala Harris in the APEC Summit. Both Putin and Kamala are expected to attend the event.
Harris will visit the country after the Apec summit.
“I can’t say that among the roster of bilateral meetings of the President that these meetings have yet to be explored for the time being,” Tamayo said. DFA noted that the President will also defer commenting on Russia’s ongoing attacks in Ukraine during the Summit.
Marcos had been calling for the cessation of hostilities in Ukraine.
“The Philippines [has] made pronouncements in the appropriate forum on our stand in Ukraine, and we will focus our efforts in Apec on the economic issues that impact on the region,” Tamayo said.
Business leaders
During his trip in Thailand, Marcos will also participate in the Apec CEO Summit, where he will push for international efforts in facilitating economic growth by “ensuring the flow and the operations of the various supply chains around the globe.”
“The challenge before us is to facilitate the rapid recovery of economies from…the pandemic, and also to undertake the necessary measures to also counter disruptive forces that affect the current economic situation around the globe,” Tamayo said.
“So that is something that the President will push for, recalling the significant role played by Apec in driving global growth and globalization in the world,” he added.
The President will meet with Thai business leaders to secure more potential investors in the country.
“The proposed slate business meetings are being arranged by our Department of Trade and Industry, and additional details will be forthcoming,” Tamayo said.
Image credits: Troi Santos