MANILA – President Marcos has extended an invitation to business leaders in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the hopes that they would recognize the various investment opportunities that the Philippines has to offer.
During a roundtable meeting with Saudi’s top business leaders on Thursday, Oct. 19, the Chief Executive served as the Philippines’ top promoter when he engaged with investors in the hopes that those present there “will further make it happen in the Philippines.”
“We hope to see all of you to visit the Philippines to see what the opportunities are and for us as well for our part, in the Philippines, to bring our teams to the Kingdom and further we already have a strong and a very long-standing people-to-people relationship which can serve as a very good foundation for any future endeavors between our two countries,” Marcos said.
The meeting happened on the sidelines of the first ever Association of Southeast Asian Nations – Gulf Cooperation Council (ASEAN-GCC) Summit being hosted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
It was attended by Marcos himself, as well as House Speaker Martin Romualdez, Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno, and Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual.
Saudi’s counterpart was led by Minister of Investment Khalid Alfalih.
But although Saudi Arabia continues to be a top destination for Filipino laborers, the President doesn’t want business engagements between the two countries to be limited to the labor market.
“We should also explore the new businesses that have come up since the end of the pandemic economy,” he said.
“And that is the area where I think that the GCC and ASEAN will find a fertile ground for future investment, and also for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Republic of the Philippines to further strengthen the ties, not only in trade but in areas of telecommunication, healthcare, energy, and even agriculture as what’s been spoken about,” he added.
The partnership with the private sector is a “central tenet” of his administration’s plans for development, the Chief Executive furthered.
And while the government “good at many things,” Marcos admitted that “there are other things that private sector does better.”
“And with that partnership, we can look forward to further growth, further strengthening of our relationship, and a better future for both of our countries,” he said.
The meeting was organized by the Ministry of Investment of Saudi Arabia (MISA) and Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
It primarily aims to promote the Philippines as a thriving environment for investment opportunities and forge a closer partnership, and introduce to the Saudi business community legislative amendments that make the Philippines more suitable and conducive for foreign investments. (MB)
