Romualdez tells US traders: Let’s strengthen ties, cooperation

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. with the Philippine delegates.

MANILA, Philippines — House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez has assured members of the United States (US) business sector that the Philippine Congress is working to strengthen ties and cooperation between the two countries.

Romualdez, who is in New York as part of the delegation President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. brought for his US visit, said that the country remains very open to broadening the economic partnership with the US side.

“Thank you for giving an opportunity to the Marcos administration and for considering the President’s agenda and vision. We are open to broadening and strengthening the economic partnership with the Philippine government. Let us continue to promote mutually beneficial trade and investment relationships,” Romualdez said in a statement sent to reporters.

“Rest assured that we, in the Philippine House of Representatives, remain committed to enacting laws that would help deepen cooperation with the United States, particularly in the areas of the supply chain, health and security, environment and climate change, energy security, and interconnectivity,” he added.

According to Romualdez, Marcos aims to sustain the government’s efforts towards recovery, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic crippled the country’s economy.

As such, he said that the administration would focus government spending on the healthcare systems, ensuring food security, increasing investments in public and digital infrastructure, and helping impoverished communities.

“We need more trading partners to realize President Marcos’ infrastructure modernization program, which is the best driver of economic growth,” the House Speaker admitted.

“We have to make different sectors of the economy stronger and more agile by creating more jobs and catalyzing business activities all over the country while saving lives and protecting communities from the continuing threat of the global health crisis,” he added.

Marcos is currently in New York for the 77th United Nations General Assembly, where the President will speak about the country’s agriculture and food security program.  He and his delegation are also expected to undertake several bilateral and multilateral talks to bolster the country’s investments.

READ: President Marcos arrives in US for six-day working visit 

In his talk before the New York Stock Exchange, Marcos said that he cannot see a future for the Philippines without the US as a partner.

READ: Marcos: I cannot see PH future without US as partner 

The President’s visit to the US comes just a week after he went to Indonesia and Singapore for his inaugural state visits, which administration officials said yielded US$14.36 billion worth of investments. With reports from Irish Lorraine Perez, INQUIRER.net trainee

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