PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. will visit New York on Sept. 18 to 24 to attract foreign investors as he tries to sell the Philippines as an important emerging economy and investment destination in Asia, the presidential palace said on Thursday.
He will also speak at the 77th United Nations (UN) General Assembly, his first debut on the world stage.
“The president’s primary objective and in fact his main policy in his governance in this administration is economic recovery,” Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles told an online news briefing. “All presidential activities are related to this particular vision.”
His speech at the UN “will be related to how the Philippines will be recovering from this pandemic, where he intends to take this and how he will do so in cooperation with other states.”
About 152 heads of state will attend the high-level general debate in New York, Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Kira Christianne Danganan-Azucena told the same briefing.
Mr. Marcos plans to meet with some of these officials and key UN leaders, she added.
The palace would identify who Mr. Marcos would be meeting in the coming days, Ms. Angeles said.
Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary for American Affairs Jose Victor Chan-Gonzaga said Mr. Marcos would also speak at the Philippine Economic Briefing, (PEB) where he is expected to meet institutional investors, senior chief executives, analysts, academics, think tanks and entrepreneurs.
His address at the briefing would be “an opportunity to outline the key economic priorities of his administration, with a special focus on how we can hopefully expand and strengthen Philippine-US trade and investment relations during his term,” he added.
Philippine economic managers will speak about macroeconomic and sectoral issues that may invite the interest of US investors and partners. “We expect them to be joined by a couple of Philippine private sector leaders.”
Mr. Marcos will also attend Chief Executive Officer roundtables on targeted sectors. A Philippine business delegation of about 30 company executives will attend the event.
Mr. Gonzaga also noted expectations of a one-on-one business meeting between Mr. Marcos and other world leaders “that can be the bases for a quick post-pandemic economic recovery and the long-term resilience of the Philippine economy.”
“The president intends to meet with US companies that would be able to contribute to our efforts to achieve food security, energy security and sustainable economic development, among others,” he added.
He will also meet with the US Chamber of Commerce, US-ASEAN Business Council and US-Philippines Society to discuss how to raise the profiles of both nations and strengthen bilateral political, economic and cultural ties.
The UN General Assembly is one of the six principal organs of the UN, serving as the main deliberative, policymaking and representative organ of the intergovernmental organization, according to the UN’s website.
This year’s general debate is the first to be held face-to-face since the pandemic hit in 2020. — Alyssa Nicole O. Tan
