ZURICH, Switzerland — President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.'s participation in the annual World Economic Forum (WEF) has gotten the backing of seven of the country's most prominent businessmen, Malacañang said.
In a statement, Communications Secretary Cheloy Garafil said the following business tycoons joined the President and his official delegation in Davos:
- Sabin Aboitiz (Aboitiz)
- Kevin Andrew Tan (Alliance Global)
- Jaime Zobel de Ayala (Ayala Group)
- Lance Gokongwei (JG Summit Holdings)
- Ramon Ang (San Miguel Corp.)
- Teresita Sy-Coson (SM Investments)
- Enrique Razon (International Container Terminal)
President Marcos and his official delegation, composed of government officials and business leaders, arrived in Switzerland on Sunday afternoon (Sunday evening Philippine time).
The WEF is hosting a Country Strategy Dialogue for the Philippines. Marcos said this is going to be an opportunity to promote the country as a leader, driver of growth, and gateway to the Asia-Pacific region.
"One that is open for business – ever ready to complement regional and global expansion plans of both foreign and Philippine-based enterprises anchored on the competent and well-educated Filipino workers, the managers and professionals," the President pointed out.
In an interview with the media en route to Switzerland, President Marcos said he was looking forward to "expanding and expounding" the significant strides his administration achieved in the WEF's question-and-answer event.
The President said he was also looking forward to the "pull-aside" or "pull-away" meetings on the sidelines of the WEF annual meeting.
President Marcos was invited by Prof. Klaus Schwab, the founder and Chair Emeritus of the WEF, at the sidelines of both the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Phnom Penh and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting in Bangkok in November last year.