Aquino to invite WEF delegates to invest in PH

MANILA, Philippines – President Benigno Aquino III will invite foreign businessmen and tourists to come to the Philippines when he attends the World Economic Forum (WEF) on East Asia in Myanmar on June 5 to 7.

“The main reason for attending the forum this year is to continue to invite foreign investors to come to the Philippines and, of course, attract tourists as well,” Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office Secretary Ricky Carandang said in a press briefing on Tuesday, June 4.

“The agenda of the Aquino administration is to generate inclusive growth and we can do that by inviting investors in who can create jobs and that is the way of sustaining the anti-poverty programs that we have begun,” he added.

Carandang said the President would promote the country’s tourism, agriculture and infrastructure sectors as potent investment areas for investors.

He also said the WEF would be a good opportunity for the President to continue marketing the Philippines, this time in its own region, as a vibrant investment destination.

“(It’s) similar to what happened in Davos (in January) except that here, where there’s a focus on East Asia, many of the businessmen will be from our part of the world. So we’re hoping that those close neighbors of ours can be enticed to invest more in the Philippines,” he said.

The President is expected to leave the country on Friday morning, June 7. He will be back in the evening after meeting with business leaders. He will invite them to attend the WEF to be held in the Philippines in 2014.

“By tradition, the incoming host personally invites the delegates to their summit,” Carandang said.

Aquino will also meet with Myanmar President Thei Sein and opposition icon Aung San Suu Kyi, Carandang added.

Aquino will be accompanied by Carandang, Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima, Budget Secretary Florencio Abad, Trade Secretary Greg Domingo, Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario, Socio-Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan, Energy Secretary Jericho Petilla, Tourism Secretary Rmaon Jimenez, cabinet secretary Jose Almendras and Philippine Ambassador to Myanmar Alex Chua.

The only official delegation from the business sector will be the Zobels of the Ayala group who are long-standing members of the WEF. – Rappler.com