Marcos to join APEC Leaders Summit in SanFo in November, may meet Biden in April in White House
US PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN meets Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meeting. A White House visit is being eyed for April as Marcos confirmed going to San Francisco for the APEC meeting in November
In an interview with select reporters in Malacañang, Marcos acknowledged his several overseas trips but said these are expected to yield a higher return on investment (ROIs).
Marcos has visited at least eight countries since assuming office, namely, Indonesia, Singapore, the United States where he attended the United Nations General Assembly and met with US President Joe Biden, Cambodia, Thailand which hosted the last APEC meeting, Belgium, China and Switzerland.
“…The way I see it, you have to look at it as ROI. Do we bring something back or do we not?” Marcos said.
“For example, we came back from China with pledges of US$22 billion. Let’s say we get actual out of that US$1 billion. Bawing-bawi lahat ng eight trips (Those eight trips would have been worth it) Finished. That’s the idea,” he added.
He underscored the need for his administration to promote the country as an investment destination not only to heads of states, but also to corporations and business leaders.
“Pag hindi tayo bumiyahe at nagpakita diyan sa mga conference na ‘yan, hindi tayo iniisip, wala sa isip nila ang Pilipinas. Kailangan natin ipakita ang ano ang ating ginagawa para naman mapaganda ang potential investment nila na dadalhin sa Pilipinas (If we don’t travel and introduce ourselves in these conferences, they won’t think about us, they won’t think about the Philippines. We need to show them what we’re doing to help the country bring in potential investments), he said.
Marcos said it was also important for him to introduce himself to his counterparts around the world as the country’s newest leader.
“I’m the new kid on the block, nobody knows who I am. Kailangan ko magpakilala (I need to introduce myself). It’s important also na magkaroon ng personal sa mga leader (It’s important also for leaders to meet in person),” he added.
After bringing home several investment pledges from his foreign trips which include his participation in global fora like the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summits, Marcos said his administration will now prioritize consolidating and following up on these commitments.
“Medyo babawasan na namin for the rest of the year. Ang dahilan ay kailangan namin balikan lahat itong mga nasimulan sa ASEAN, APEC, China, pati pagpunta sa [European Union] sa Brussels, tapos itong biyahe sa Davos. Kailangan namin idetalye ang aming pinag-usapan (We will reduce our trips for the rest of the year. The reason is that we have to go back to all these things that were started in ASEAN, APEC, China, as well as going to the EU in Brussels, and then this trip to Davos. We need to elaborate on what we discussed),” he said.
