MANILA – President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. is scheduled to participate in the 30th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders’ Summit, which will be held in San Francisco, California from November 15 to 17. This summit marks the culmination of the year-long chairmanship and hosting by the United States of the leaders’ meeting.
Undersecretary Charles Jose of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) highlighted the significance of President Marcos’s attendance at the APEC Summit, emphasizing that APEC serves as the Philippines’ primary platform for official engagements with other economies in the Asia-Pacific region.
“The Philippines is a founding member of APEC since 1989. APEC is important to the Philippines because it is the primary forum for our engagement with the other economies in the Asia-Pacific region,” said Jose during a press briefing with the Malacañang Press Corps (MPC).
Jose pointed out that 11 out of the Philippines’ top 15 trading partners are APEC members. These APEC economies play a substantial role in the Philippines, accounting for 85 percent of the country’s total exports and imports, as well as approximately 56 percent of the foreign direct investments.
This will be President Marcos’s second attendance at the APEC Leaders’ Summit, with his previous participation taking place in Thailand in November of the previous year.
The theme for this year’s APEC summit, “Creating a resilient and sustainable future for all,” focuses on building sustainability, inclusivity, and resilience for a peaceful and prosperous APEC region. Several successful outcomes from APEC work in 2023 include the adoption of agreements that advance food security, energy security, human resource development, digitalization, and supply chain resilience.
Jose emphasized that this year’s APEC theme aligns with President Marcos Jr.’s administration’s economic agenda, the Philippine Development Plan, and the administration’s 8-point socioeconomic agenda, which envisions economic transformation to create a prosperous, inclusive, and resilient Philippines by prioritizing the creation of quality and green jobs.
Following the APEC Leaders’ Summit, President Marcos will embark on working visits to Los Angeles, California, and Honolulu, Hawaii, where he will engage with business leaders and the Filipino Community. According to Jose, this visit will enhance cooperation between the United States and the Philippines. (PND)
