PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. 2nd State of the Nation Address (SONA) stressed that his independent foreign policy is effective, as his administration has reaped significant investment value for the country through his foreign trips and official state visits.
Though it was less discussed in his 2nd SONA, the independent foreign policy of the administration was on the right track according to the President as it has contributed a lot to the country’s economy.
As a matter of fact, there are old friends and new allies that have contributed big investment value in the Philippines.
“With that we have not limited ourselves to the local economy but we have looked to the global economy for partnerships and agreements. Our independent foreign policy—a friend to all and enemy of none—has proven effective. We formed strategic alliances with our traditional and newfound partners in the international community.”
“We have embarked on foreign trips to promote the interests of the country, for peace-building and for mutually beneficial purposes. Those economic missions have yielded an estimated total investment value of $71-B, or P3.9-T, with a potential to generate 175,000 jobs,” President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. said.
Over 1 trillion investments has been approved in the first year of his administration while through the green lanes, the country has earned more than P12-B.
“The implementation of recent economic reforms is underway. BOI-approved investment projects have reached 1.2 trillion pesos during our first year, while other strategic investments approved for processing through the newly established ‘green lanes’ amount to 230 billion pesos.”
“Our existing bilateral and multilateral trade agreements, notably within the ASEAN framework, and with Japan, and with Europe, allow us to leverage our competitive advantages and reap economic benefits. We will continue to forge more of these international partnerships that will lead to a more balanced trade strategy and a healthier economic position,” President Marcos added.
Currently, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is effective and is a huge help to the import and export of the Philippines, especially the products from the agricultural sector.
“The regional comprehensive economic partnership (RCEP) is now in force. It is a multilateral trade arrangement with the ASEAN and other countries, such as Australia, China, Japan, Korea, and New Zealand. We can now have competitive access to a regional market of 2 billion people,” he added.
