President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. is set to push the country's economic agenda before other world leaders at the 2023 World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, on Sunday, Jan. 15.
Marcos' early morning trip to Europe is his second this month. He made a State Visit to China during the first week of the new year.
According to Palace Press Briefer Daphne Oseña-Paez, the WEF is an excellent opportunity for the Philippines to explore new investment, trade, and infrastructure systems amid the economic downturn.
The event also allows President Marcos to push the country's priorities, particularly on food, energy, security, digitalization, climate action, attracting investments, and promoting beneficial trade, among others.
The forum is likewise a chance for the Philippines to partner with other countries, businesses, civil society, and other stakeholders and to collaborate with the WEF on their initiatives.
During the five-day event, Marcos is set to talk about the Maharlika Wealth Fund (MWF) before his fellow world leaders. The MWF is a sovereign wealth fund that the government will use to invest in a wide range of outlets, such as foreign currencies, fixed-income instruments, domestic and foreign corporate bonds, commercial real estate, and infrastructure projects.
"Global and business leaders will be there, and they will hear it directly from the President-- what the fundamentals that we have that lead us to decide that we should have a sovereign wealth fund," Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Carlos Sorreta said.
"It's really more a soft launch. It's to introduce it. I understand it is evolving. It's a very soft launch. People do this all the time in fora like this. It's more to inform the world," he added.
Aside from the WEF, Marcos will also meet with business leaders and the members of the Filipino community. However, due to the tight schedule, he may not have a bilateral meeting with any world leader.
According to the DFA, the President is the only leader from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and only one of the two leaders from Asia to attend the WEF.
The World Economic Forum is the premier forum for world and business leaders to get together, interact, and come up with ideas and plans to address challenges and opportunities facing the global economy.