Private sector leaders expressed their full support to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as he deepened ties with the United States during US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s diplomatic visit to the country on March 19.
Blinken visited Manila to reinforce the relationship between the two countries and explore further cooperation on economic, technology and security investments in the region.
The Private Sector Advisory Council (PSAC) expressed strong support to any effort to strengthen ties between the Philippines and the United States.
“The US government actively encouraging American businesses to invest in the Philippines is hugely beneficial for our economy, and so we are fully committed to cooperation,” PSAC strategic lead convenor and Aboitiz Group president and chief executive Sabin Aboitiz said.
“President Marcos Jr.’s meeting with President Biden was definitely promising, and we look forward to continued progress in our bilateral relations,” Aboitiz said.
Blinken visited Malacañang for a courtesy call where he met the President, the PSAC and key officials to reiterate the US commitment to developing the Philippines’ capabilities as its oldest ally in the Indo-Pacific region.
He said that since President Marcos’ meeting with US President Joseph Biden Jr. in May, the two countries had achieved remarkable progress in their relationship.
“Our focus, our determination when it comes to the Indo-Pacific and our engagement there, and specifically the relationship between our countries, could not be greater, could not be stronger, could not be more determined,” said Blinken.
The President welcomed the Secretary of State, the second White House official to be received by the country in a week following US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo.
Raimondo led the first US Presidential Trade and Investment Mission (PTIM) to the Philippines on March 11 to 12.
She led a delegation of 22 top US businesses to meet and collaborate with Philippine business groups organized by PSAC. The mission resulted in over $1 billion investments from American companies.
“It is extremely encouraging for the Philippines that despite all of these extremely important issues that you have to attend to, that you consider the Philippines important enough to take time from all of those globally important issues to come with us in the Philippines here today,” Marcos said.
Blinken underscored the economic partnerships between the US and the Philippines that turned it into a strategic partner in the region, specifically praising the Philippines’ impact on the semiconductor industry.
The country benefits from the US CHIPS Act, a $500-million innovation fund intended to invest in the US and its partners’ semiconductor development initiatives.
“We’re constantly expanding this partnership to meet bigger challenges, to seize bigger opportunities, including semiconductors. If you look at what the Philippines is doing in this area, it’s already extraordinary. The Philippines has 20 percent of the global market for assembly, for testing and for packaging,” said Blinken.