By Prince Golez
Economic leaders at the World Economic Forum (WEF) tagged the Philippines as part of the “VIP Club,” a list of Southeast Asian nations with best-performing economies, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said.
In an interview, Marcos Jr. said the WEF in Switzerland provided an excellent platform to showcase the country’s robust economic performance.
“Mabuti naman at nakapunta tayo rito, dahil sa pagpunta natin, nasama tayo sa tinatawag nilang VIP Club… ‘Yung VIP Club ay Vietnam, Indonesia, and Philippines. Yun daw ang pinakamagandang ekonomiya sa Asya,” he said.
The President said that he had the opportunity to meet with global leaders at the forum, and that several foreign investors expressed an interest in exploring business opportunities in the Philippines.
“Napakaganda ng mga naging pangyayari dahil napakarami naming nakilala at nakausap na mga sikat na mga economic leaders at mga political leaders at nandito silang lahat,” according to him.
In Davos, Marcos Jr. met with WEF Founder and Chairman Emeritus Klaus Schwab, whom he refers to as a “dear friend of the Philippines.” They talked about partnerships and collaboration to help the country sustain equitable and inclusive growth and improve Filipinos’ quality of life.
He also met and exchanged views with several leaders of countries and organizations, such as World Trade Organization Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, World Bank Managing Director for Operations Axel Van Trotsenburg, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, and former United Kingdom Prime Minister Tony Blair.
“The process that we undertook really in Davos was not simply to highlight the new situation, the new economic situation, the new policies, and the new concepts that we are promoting in the Philippines today, but also to learn from the world leaders and the world economic leaders what part the Philippines can play in this fragmented world,” Marcos Jr. said in his arrival speech Saturday.
“That was the main theme in this entire forum. [It] is how we bring back cooperation in a fragmented world. And we are seen to play a part in that and especially as a member state of (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and as a leading economy in Asia,” he added.
