President Marcos Jr. has secured the support of the United States and Japan for the Philippines’ continued development especially in infrastructure and connectivity.
The President, who arrived from Washington yesterday, said the Philippines, the US and Japan had discussed during their trilateral meeting various ways of enhancing cooperation in a number of areas of mutual concern such as economic resilience and security, inclusive growth and development, climate change, and maritime cooperation.
Marcos, in his arrival speech, said the US and Japan isupported the Philippines’ participation to the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGI), the implementation of the Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN) and the country’s membership to the Minerals Security Partnership Forum.
Marcos said US President Joe Biden had indicated the PGI would mean more investments in infrastructure programs in critical sectors such as energy, ports, railroads, agriculture, among others.
Under O-RAN, the US and Japan pledged to put $8 million into the program which is aimed at ensuring a secure and reliable information communications technologyecosystem.
Over the past year, the US Trade and Development Agency’ s support to the Philippines has resulted in over $500 million worth of assistance to develop high quality infrastructure that are focused on renewable energy, smart grids, and healthcare solutions.
The President said the US and Japan also supported the Philippines’ workforce development for the semiconductor industry, and capacity-building in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.
Marcos said the trilateral meeting in the US focused more on the economic development of the three countries amid developments in the Indo-Pacific, particularly the South China Sea.
Before leaving Washington, the President in an interview had expressed confidence American and Japanese investments in the country, resulting from the trilateral summit, will materialize in the next five years.
On the sidelines of the visit, Marcos met with Ultra Safe Nuclear Corp. to discuss the Philippines’ initiatives to diversity its energy mix to promote clean energy sources.
He also met with technology giant, Google to tackle internet infrastructure aimed at supporting the Philippines’ information technology-business process management industry through secured data flows.
The meeting also discussed the crucial role of American firms in deploying redundant direct subsea cable links, providing training to Filipinos in digital literacy, cybersecurity, and Cloud Storage solutions.
Marcos attended a forum organized by the US-Asean Business Council with the US Chamber of Commerce, and a reception set by the US-Philippine Society, where he reiterated that the Philippines is “open to US businesses.”
“The US International Development Finance Corp. has pledged to mobilize private sector investment in critical sectors such as infrastructure and renewable energy with a new $20 million loan, earmarked for affordable housing in the Philippines,” he said.
This is on top of the over $1 billion in combined investments from 22 American companies and organizations that were showcased during the recent US Presidential trade and investment mission to Manila in March 2024.
Marcos also said the upcoming Indo-Pacific Business Forum scheduled for May 21 in Manila, promises to be a significant platform for fostering infrastructure development and reinforcing economic ties in the region.
The forum will be attended by 500 senior executives and government officials.
