PRESIDENT Benigno S. Aquino III confirmed on Monday that he will be embarking on a United States “road trip” next month to invite potential investors to the country.
In an interview, President Aquino said he will be meeting with Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima “who just came back from setting the ground work for the US trip” to discuss the particulars on how “to make the country even more attractive to all of these investors in the hopes of generating all of those jobs.”
The President said that he was informed by US Ambassador to the Philippines Harry Thomas upon their first meeting that “there is a serious interest on the part of investors to know what’s in store for them if they invest in the Philippines.”
The President said that aside from pushing for the Philippines as an investment haven, his other itinerary for the US trip will include his attendance to the United Nations General Assembly, witnessing the signing of the Millennium Challenge Corporation compact granting $434-million to the country and meeting with the Philippine Development Foundation (PDF).
He said his meeting with the PDF was to discuss ways of “growing our information technology base of people, engineers and scientists.”
“Because there are Filipinos and Americans of Filipino descent who are into venture-capital industries and they are movers and shakers of that industry. They find it difficult to invest in the Philippines primarily because we lack the human resources to meet the needs of industries in that category,” the President said.
When asked if he would hold talks with US President Barack Obama, President Aquino said that the details were “still being finalized.” (PIA-Bohol)
