Execs of top US firms to visit Phl this week

Executives of some of the US's largest companies are set to visit Manila this week to promote greater trade and investment with the Philippines.

In a statement sent by the Department of Foreign Affairs, the  Philippine Embassy in Washington, D.C. said the delegation, which will be in Manila from January 23 tois 25, is led by the US-Philippines Society, a non-profit and independent organization that seeks to raise the profile of the Philippines in the United States.

The Society, which was formally established during the visit to Washington last year of President Benigno S. Aquino III, is co-chaired by Philippine Long Distance Telephone (PLDT) Co. Chair Manuel Pangilinan and former US Ambassador to the Philippines John Negroponte. 

“The delegation will participate in a dynamic program aimed at strengthening ties with political and business leaders, fostering discussion of strategic issues, and promoting business and investment opportunities,” said Ambassador Jose L. Cuisia Jr. who will be leading the delegation along with  Negroponte.

Cuisia said the delegation will include executives of big companies such  as Citigroup, Chevron, Coca Cola, General Electric, JP Morgan Chase, Procter & Gamble, Peregrine Development International, CV Starr & Co., the US Education Finance Group, McLarty & Associates, Federal Express and Spence & Co.

He said the delegation will call on Aquino and Supreme Court Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno and participate in a policy forum with Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima, Trade Secretary Gregory Domingo. 

According to Ambassador Cuisia, the Policy Forum will also feature  Negroponte and two other former ambassadors to Manila—Thomas Hubbard and Richard Murphy—who will discuss the strategic environment in the region and the outlook for policy directions as the second term of President Barack Obama begins in Washington. 

He said the program also includes a meeting with US Ambassador Harry Thomas Jr.; a dialogue with business leaders organized by the Makati Business Club; and visits to the Global Gateway Logistics City at the Clark Freeport in Pampanga; the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions of the Department of Trade and Industry; and the Asian Institute of Management. 

Cuisia said the delegation will also attend the second regular meeting of the Board of Directors which is made up of civic and business leaders from the US and the Philippines.