Trade and Industry Secretary Alfredo E. Pascual has met in Switzerland major companies -- Coursera, Chevron, Astranis, and She Loves Tech, which have expressed strong business interests in the Philippines.

Pascual is part of Philippine Delegation of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at the 53rd edition of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos. The WEF Annual Meeting serves as a premier gathering of business, government, and civil society organizations (CSOs) in collaborative activities to shape the global, regional, and industry agenda at the beginning of each year.

On Monday, Jan. 16, the first day of the Forum, the DTI said that Pascual held a series of bilateral meetings with senior executives of Coursera, Chevron, Astranis, and She Loves Tech. The trade chief also met with WEF’s Executive Committee member and Head of International Trade and Investment to discuss potential partnerships with the Philippines.

"We have met with several business executives and presented our country as an ideal investment destination in Asia. Similarly, we shared with them our improved business climate, which was fueled by the recent economic policy reforms that facilitate ease of doing business. We see WEF as an opportunity to gather more FDIs that will complement our country's economic recovery initiatives," Pascual said.

Coursera Inc. is a U.S.-based massive open online course provider founded in 2012 by Stanford University computer science professors Andrew Ng and Daphne Koller. Coursera works with universities and other organizations to offer online courses, certifications, and degrees in a variety of subjects.

Astranis Space Technologies Corp., doing business as Astranis, is a private American geostationary communications satellite operator and manufacturer headquartered in San Francisco, California.

Chevron Corporation is an American multinational energy corporation predominantly in oil and gas. The second-largest direct descendant of Standard Oil, and originally known as the Standard Oil Company of California, it is headquartered in San Ramon, California, and active in more than 180 countries, including the Philippines

Meantime She Loves Tech is the world’s largest acceleration platform for women and technology.

Together with the country's economic managers, Pascual will also be joining the CEO Dialogue on the Philippines with President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. as the keynote speaker. The Dialogue will highlight the administration’s initiatives on energy, food security, and digitalization to add resilience and growth momentum to the country’s economy through public-private collaboration.

Further, the Secretary will be speaking as a contributor in a number of WEF sessions including: MSMEs Going Global, Next Generation Industrial Strategies, and a Trade and Investment Leadership Lunch.

Pascual will also be representing the Philippines in several Ministerial-level meetings of the World Trade Organization (WTO) on E-Commerce, Investment Facilitation for Development, and Climate Change as the WTO gears up for its Ministerial Conference scheduled for February 2024.

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DTI Chief meets with potential investors in Davos