President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., House Speaker Martin Romualdez, Ambassador of the Philippines to the United States Babe Romualdez, Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual and Presidential Communications Office Secretary Cheloy Garafil speak with Singaporean businessmen at the 10th Asian Summit. | Photo from PCO
MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said that the shared future of Singapore and the Philippines is bright, according to the Palace on Thursday.
Marcos is in Singapore for the 10th Asian Summit, where he spoke to world leaders and businessmen. He will also attend the Formula One Singapore Grand Prix 2023.
“For me, the future is bright for the Philippines and Singapore. And I see more opportunities than we have ever had before in fact, and it’s just up to us to identify those and to agree on how to best respond to the changes that we now face,” Marcos said in a roundtable discussion at the summit.
Marcos said that there has been no significant problem between Singapore and the Philippines.
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“In that time between the very beginning of that relationship, we haven’t come across really any significant issues, diplomatic, political, or otherwise between Singapore and the Philippines,” Marcos said in a roundtable discussion with Singaporean businessmen.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the President said that Philippine exports to Singapore increased by 16.98 percent to $4.91 billion from $4.2 billion in 2021.
Marcos encouraged businessmen to invest in the Philippines, citing the policies that his administration enacted to ease business in the country, such as allowing 100 percent ownership of renewable energy projects.
“Let me also take the opportunity to encourage you to participate in the infrastructure projects under the banner of the Build, Better, More program, which aims to facilitate mobility and connectivity for businesses and for people,” Marcos said.
“There are numerous projects that can be explored in the areas of physical and digital connectivity, water resources, agriculture, health, and energy.”