DAVOS AND DSWD Economist Ramon Orosa (left) talks about the importance of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s participation in the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland this coming week. Department of Social Welfare and Development Officer in Charge Eduardo Punay discusses the agency’s Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) as part of the administration’s poverty reduction strategy, cash assistance or ayuda to the disadvantaged, educational assistance to poor students, relief operations in natural disasters, and livelihood generation activities for the marginalized at the Dapo Restaurant in Quezon City on Saturday, Jan. 14 2023. PHOTO BY JOHN ORVEN VERDOTE
PRESIDENT Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. will present the Philippines’ economic performance and his administration’s priorities when he joins other world leaders in the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Switzerland next week.
Marcos, along with the members of his official delegation, will leave Manila today, Sunday, for the summit meeting that will be held in Davos from January 16 to 20.
During his visit, Malacañang press briefer Daphne Oseña Paez said Marcos will seize the opportunity to highlight the Philippine government’s readiness to put a premium on key areas, such as food and energy security, digitalization and climate action.
Paez said the President is also bullish on attracting more investments, promoting beneficial trade, addressing inequality and providing accessible social services.
“[The] World Economic Forum is an economic forum. So, it’s the time for the Philippines, since we’re at the world stage, to let them know what the country is doing in terms of being ready and attractive for investments,” Paez said during a recent pre-departure press briefing.
Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Carlos Sorreta said Marcos is the only Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) leader and one of the two Asian leaders to attend this year’s WEF.
Sorreta said Marcos will be in a “wonderful position” to prove that the Philippines, as well as the Asean and the East Asia region, can be the “engine of growth for the world economy.
“The theme for WEF is ‘Cooperation in A Fragmented World.’ What we want to present is [that] the Philippines, in Asean and in Asia, can be [an] important factor in bringing together the fragmented parts of the world. What we present to a fragmented world because of our great economic potential in our country and in our region is a promise of progress and prosperity. It’s what we offer if we are able to achieve peace in other parts of the world,” he said.
“The President goes to Davos at the time when our country and our region [are] recovering well from past challenges. Projections remain high for economic growth for our country and our region. We have [a] realization in our region that individual and collective economic potential remains great,” Sorreta added.
Sorreta said Marcos will attend a high-level dialogue with other world leaders, a stakeholder dialogue on global nutrition and a series of business meetings.
He said Marcos will also meet with around 700 members of the Filipino community from Switzerland and other countries in Europe.
“I understand that other Filipino community members from other parts of Europe have asked to attend and of course, they will be allowed to attend. So, they will be coming in from other countries in Europe to meet the President,” he said.
Marcos will also have an opportunity to have bilateral meetings with other global leaders, but noted that these will be different from the “typical sit down,” Sorreta said.
“It’s really a bit different. The bilaterals mostly when they are in the same room together,” he said.
“One-on-one bilaterals might be difficult because all the leaders are either leading opening sessions or are panelists. The opportunity for bilaterals will be when he’s sitting beside, for example, the president of Belgium or the president of Korea. But the typical sit down, it’s not that kind of meeting,” Sorreta added.
Sorreta said Marcos will also introduce the proposed Maharlika Wealth fund on the world stage during the WEF.
He said the WEF will be a “great venue” to “soft launch” the Maharlika Wealth fund, which has yet to secure approval from Congress.
“The WEF is a great venue to do a sort of soft launch for our sovereign wealth fund, given the prominence of the forum itself and global and business leaders will be there,” he said.
Sorreta said that while Congress is still fine-tuning the proposed law, the President already has a very good grasp of the bill’s “broad strokes” and “what he wants to achieve in whatever form the sovereign wealth fund finally takes.”
“What’s very important is it’s an investment in the future and there’s great confidence the President has and the capability of the Filipino entrepreneurs and local investors even,” he added.
WEF, established in 1971, serves as an international organization for public-private cooperation.
The annual WEF convenes leaders from government, business and civil society to address the state of the world and discuss priorities for the year ahead.
