President Marcos is adamant for the Philippines to become “a leading investment hub” for Canadian businesses, further highlighting the role of allied countries in achieving this goal.
The President met with Canadian Minister of Export Promotion, International Trade, and Economic Development Mary Ng in Malacañan on Wednesday, Dec. 4, where he discussed the importance of engaging allies.
“We’ve been trying very hard to restructure ourselves so just to make us more business-friendly, investment-friendly. And that’s why such all of these, our interactions, are important to us,” he said.
Ng and her delegation are in the Philippines for the Team Canada Trade Mission (TCTM) Philippines, which is taking place in Manila from Dec. 4 to 6.
The team is composed of business representatives, entrepreneurs, and industry officials who have expressed interest in strengthening trade cooperation with the country.
For her part, Ng expressed Canada’s strong confidence in its partnership with the Philippines.
“What that speaks through, Mr. President, is the confidence that Canadian businesses have, wanting to do business here in Manila, looking for opportunities to invest,” she said.
“So, I’m very, very excited. And there’s a lot of Canadians [that] are very excited about being here as well,” the official added.
The TCTM Philippines includes more than 300 delegates representing 180 companies.
It is expected to bring significant investments, forge new partnerships and business initiatives, and generate numerous job opportunities for Filipinos.
Canadian Ambassador to Manila David Hartman earlier shared that investors from the agriculture, agrifood, information communications technology, and clean technology sectors are interested in partnering with Philippine businesses.
There are also interests in defense, security, aerospace and education, he added.