Marcos bats for stronger economic partnerships across Indo-Pacific

PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. pushed for stronger trade and investment partnerships among Indo-Pacific countries amid an evolving global economic landscape.Marcos stressed the importance of economic partnerships as he met with leaders of the Future Economic Cooperation Council (FECC) as part of his working visit to Singapore, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said on Friday.FECC is an India-based economic platform that brings together government and business leaders to promote free trade, investment flows and resilient economic partnerships in the Indo-Pacific region."The discussion focused on how government and business can work together to navigate a changing global economy and unlock new opportunities for the region," the PCO said in a statement.The engagement underscored shared priorities in advancing balanced development, fostering innovation and enhancing economic resilience across the region, it said.The discussions also highlighted the importance of strengthening economic cooperation among governments, businesses and other sectors to address emerging challenges and promote inclusive growth."These efforts support stronger trade and investment partnerships while helping shape a more innovative, connected and prosperous future for the region," the PCO said.While in Singapore, the president is also promoting the Philippines as an attractive destination for trade and investment.The visit aligns with the administration's push to expand economic cooperation with regional partners, attracting more investments and strengthening the country's participation in the rapidly growing Indo-Pacific economy.Marcos, who returned to Manila on Thursday, said the Philippines and Singapore further strengthened bilateral ties and expanded cooperation in key areas including trade, investment, artificial intelligence, digital technology, health care and education during his two-day working visit to Singapore.In his post-visit statement, the president said his meetings with Singapore Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong, Singaporean business executives, investors and regional business leaders reaffirmed the enduring strength of Philippines-Singapore relations amid global shocks and conflicts."During my courtesy call on Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, we affirmed the strength of our bilateral relations amid global shocks and conflicts," the president said.Marcos said he and Wong discussed advancing cooperation in trade and investment, artificial intelligence, education, the environment, health care and people-to-people exchanges, while reaffirming their shared commitment to a stronger and more unified Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) as the Philippines and Singapore hold successive Asean chairmanships.During meetings with leading Singaporean companies and investors, the president highlighted the Philippines' commitment to digital transformation, critical infrastructure development and expanded access to quality health care.Marcos said discussions with Singtel Group and ABC Impact focused on their continuing investments and expansion plans in the Philippines. Singtel reaffirmed its long-term commitment through the expansion of NCS Philippines and the continued development of ST Telemedia Global Data Centers' facilities.ABC Impact reiterated its support for the nationwide expansion of AC Health, which is expected to improve access to health care services and create thousands of jobs for Filipinos.The president also presented investment opportunities in the Philippines during a Milken Institute roundtable discussion with regional business leaders. He said Luzon Economic Corridor, the new Public-Private Partnership Code and Green Lanes for Strategic Investments are among the initiatives aimed at speeding up approvals and removing regulatory bottlenecks."As a newly designated upper-middle-income country with solid macroeconomic fundamentals, the Philippines offers a secure, transparent and stable environment for businesses to thrive," Marcos said.