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Friday, March 29, 2024

PBBM meets Cambodian king, Vietnamese PM

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The Philippines and Vietnam vowed to work toward balancing trade between them, as President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. expressed elation over the warm welcome he received from Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni on Thursday.

GOOD BUSINESS. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. beams as he meets with leaders of various companies in Cambodia to encourage them to set up business in the Philippines on Thursday.

Cambodia is hosting regional leaders for the 40th and 41st Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit and Related Summits in Phnom Penh, where Mr. Marcos also held bilateral talks with the Vietnamese side led by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.

Earlier, the President agreed with a group of Cambodian business leaders to enhance collaboration in digitization, low-cost housing, and other fields that can help accelerate post-pandemic economic recovery.

While the Philippines considers Vietnam an “important partner” in ensuring food security, Mr. Marcos noted a significant trade imbalance between the two countries.

He expressed hope that Vietnam would help the Philippines address this problem, as the former accounts for 90 percent of Manila’s rice imports.

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The President told PM Chinh that he looks forward to working closely with Vietnam and having greater engagement toward enhancing relations in agriculture and other areas, such as trade, investment, defense, and maritime security.

“As we have observed, the Philippines and Vietnam since the beginning of our diplomatic relationship, have had a burgeoning, a growing relationship, both in the political and security side and of course, in terms of trade and in people-to-people exchanges,” Mr. Marcos said.

The President welcomed the increased total trade between the Philippines and Vietnam as the government earlier reestablished the Philippine Trade and Investment Center in Ho Chi Minh, which is expected to enhance the two nations’ economic relations.

Meanwhile, Speaker Martin G. Romualdez receives a token of appreciation from Vietnam National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue during the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentery Assembly at Shoka Hotel in Phnom Penh. Hue will also visit the Philippines on November 23 to 25. Ver Noveno

Chinh, meanwhile, expressed eagerness to work with the Philippines in addressing maritime issues, particularly illegal fishing, and balancing trade.

He underscored the need for new approaches in addressing the present challenges and called for adherence to the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea.

The Vietnamese leader also lauded Mr. Marcos for the Philippine government’s effective COVID-19 response and for achieving one of the highest gross domestic product (GDP) growth rates in Asia.

The Philippines has de-escalated quarantine protocols and posted a GDP growth of 7.6 percent despite a high inflation environment, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.

Meanwhile, Mr. Marcos and his fellow Southeast Asian leaders paid a royal audience to Sihamoni before the formal opening of the ASEAN Summit and Related Summits that started yesterday and runs to Nov. 13.

“It is a privilege to visit the Royal Palace of Cambodia to meet with King Norodom Sihamoni,” the President said in a Facebook post.

“We are extremely grateful to Prime Minister Hun Sen for the chance he had given to us, the ASEAN Heads of State and Government,” he added.

Last August, Mr. Marcos vowed to improve the “enduring friendship” between the Philippines and Cambodia, which established formal diplomatic ties with Manila on Aug. 20, 1957.

During the roundtable meeting in Phnom Penh, the President touted the country’s improved investment climate after gradually easing COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.

He underscored the need for digitization to ensure ease of doing business, particularly addressing red tape in the bureaucracy.

“Once we can digitalize and digitize our operations, the bureaucracy, the national government, and the local government, then things will be much, much easier,” he said.

Mr. Marcos also said his administration is keen on developing the domestic market considering its potential for both foreign and local investors.

“We are encouraging not only foreign investment. We are also encouraging local investment because we feel there is potential in the market,” he added.

He told Cambodian businessmen that he wanted to “build up” the Philippine manufacturing sector since the economy is currently “skewed to the service sector.”

“We are trying to build up the manufacturing side of the economy and that is why capital-intensive investment will be very, very important for us to be able to do that,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mr. Marcos also presented before Cambodian business leaders the Philippines’ long-existing problem of addressing its backlog in providing housing for the poor.

To address this, he said his administration is pushing for an aggressive housing program that aims to build 1 million housing units per year or 6 million by the end of his term.

To date, project construction has already begun in various locations across the country, according to the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development.

“We are aiming for 1 million homes, 1 million low-cost and socialized homes a year. It is an ambitious number, but we will try very, very hard,” he said.

He said it was not just enough to simply build a house, but they needed to “build a community.”

“…There have to be schools nearby, work cannot be farther, the commute cannot be more than one hour, there has to be a marketplace, all of this. The transportation is easy to get to,” he added.

Mr. Marcos and Cambodian CEOs also agreed to strengthen ties in agriculture, particularly mechanization and food processing, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), and energy.

Collaboration in elderly medical care was also identified, particularly the hiring of Filipino nurses as well as tie-ups on garments and traveling bag manufacturing.

Speaker Martin G. Romualdez, who was at the meeting with the President, said the House of Representatives supports the Marcos administration’s programs to attract more foreign direct investments into the country to revitalize the economy and improve the lives of Filipinos.

“We would study needed refinements in our laws, regulations, and government policies so as to further attract foreign investments and create more jobs for Filipinos,” Romualdez said.

Romualdez said Cambodian business leaders are keenly interested in the Philippines.

Also with the President were Department of Trade and Industry Secretary Alfredo Pascual, Department of Social Welfare and Development Secretary Erwin Tulfo, and Philippine Ambassador to Cambodia Maria Amelita Aquino.

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