President Benigno Aquino III. AP FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — President Benigno Aquino III is set to fly to Singapore Tuesday for a packed two-day working visit aimed at boosting the country’s political and economic ties to this Southeast Asian neighbor and burnishing the image of the Philippines as an emerging business destination in the region.
During the trip Aquino will keynote The Economist’s World in 2015 Review, the latest in a series of business conferences held annually in the world’s key cities where “luminaries, famous people and intellectuals” paint their vision of the year ahead, said Philippine Ambassador to Singapore Antonio Morales.
Aquino is the featured interview subject in the event’s Gala Dinner Tuesday night, becoming the first Philippine president to be invited since the authoritative and prestigious business magazine The Economist began the conference series or tour in 2009, the Department of Foreign Affairs said.
“As the subject of the keynote interview for The World in 2015 Gala Dinner, President Aquino will have the opportunity to share his thoughts on the Philippines’ future trajectory with senior executives from business, government and academia who will be attending the prestigious event,” the DFA said in a statement Monday.
“It will also be a chance for the President to generate goodwill and support for sustaining his reform agenda and plans and programs for sustainable economic growth, his vision for the Southeast Asian region and the Mindanao peace process as a core element of the government’s program for inclusive growth,” the foreign office said.
Aquino’s participation in the global event is a recognition of the Philippines’ growing importance as an economic player, Morales said in a statement sent ahead of the President’s visit.
“We are honored by this invitation and by the visit of the President. It is an acknowledgement of the importance of the Philippine economy, its growing strength, its sustainable growth in the future and also of the important role that the President has played in this regard,” said the envoy.
“I think in recognition of the importance of the Philippines in the world, the President was invited by The Economist to share his views on the future. So he will be joining a select group of distinguised intellectuals and world leaders who have been invited by The Economist,” he added.
Morales cited the renewed attention on the Philippines amid its economic performance in recent years, marked by consistent growth and improving scores among international ratings agencies.
“We believe it is an acknowledgement of the Philippine economy, of the important role that we are playing in the world stage. In fact, they have been saying that if the present trends continue, the Philippines will be the 16th biggest economy in the world in a few years,” Morales added.
Aquino will have a “full schedule” in Singapore, including a meeting with Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Morales said.
“I think that the agenda would be on how we can further boost our bilateral relations to the mutual benefits of our people in areas of political cooperation, areas of economic cooperation. We all know that Singapore is progressive and prosperous because it believes in free trade. And so its prosperity is also dependent on the free movement of goods and the freedom of navigation,” said Morales.
“These are areas that we have some things that we have in common with the Singaporeans, we are also for freedom of navigation, for the peaceful resolution of disputes whether territorial or other disputes. So I think it will be a very, very productive and important to stress our bilateral relations and also our cooperation in the region and in the whole world in terms of peace and security,” he said.
Aquino is also scheduled to meet with Singapore’s top business executives, a timely interface in light of a revived Singaporean interest in doing business with the Philippines.
“I think these meetings are very strategic. These will involve some of the really big companies in Singapore. It will have a lot of influence in encouraging other companies to look at the Philippines,” Glenn Peñaranda, commercial counsellor at the Philippine Trade and Investment Center, said in a separate statement.
He noted how the Philippines was far from Singapore’s business radar just two years ago, when he first came to the city-state. This has changed, he said, with Singaporean businesses now keen on investing in two sectors: infrastructure and the consumer sector.
“I think this is very timely because I feel that we are just really starting to generate the interest of Singaporean business. So for many companies in Singapore, the Philippines is an attractive market for that,” said Peñaranda.
While in Singapore, Aquino is also expected to drop by Lucky Plaza, the so-called “Filipino mall” at the heart of Orchard Road, to meet with Filipinos working in the city, said Morales.
There are an estimated 180,000 Filipinos in Singapore, according to the envoy.
The Philippines has maintained relations with Singapore since 1966, a year after the city-state gained independence, Morales said. It is the country’s fourth largest trading partner and also among the top sources of foreign investments, with firms engaged in finance, telecommunications, power, and ship building.
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