US envoy tells Bohol youth: 'Experience America’

CEBU, Philippines — US Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim invited students and young professionals in Bohol to experience the life of an American student through the EducationUSA program.

Kim in his visit to the University of Bohol in Tagbilaran City, talked about the US bilateral relationship with the Philippines during the "Experience USA: Caravan on Youth Opportunities in America" for Bohol students and young professionals.

"For the youth here today, I encourage you to sign up for the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI).  Through YSEALI, youth under the age of 35 can apply for exchanges in the United States, workshops throughout ASEAN, and projects in their home communities," Kim said.

"All these programs help the youth gain the skills they need to work together to solve local, regional, and global challenges. Today there are more than 120,000 ASEAN youth in the YSEALI network.  Joining YSEALI is easy and free. Just sign up at YSEALI.state.gov. We advise thousands of Filipino students how to apply to study at US universities and colleges," said the visiting envoy.

Aside from the economic cooperation and people-to-people exchanges, US also provides "humanitarian and development assistance," Kim said, adding that the US government issues hundreds of millions of pesos in grants every year to strengthen the ties between the two countries and advance our bilateral priorities.

"I was born in South Korea, spent part of my youth in Japan, and have served much of my career in the Asia-Pacific region. During that time, I have watched this region take off. The Asia-Pacific region now accounts for more than one-quarter of global GDP. In the next two years, Asia is expected to account for 60 percent of global GDP growth. Strengthening US engagement with Asia has been, and remains, a top US foreign policy priority," said the ambassador.

Kim said that the total trade between the US and the Philippines is more than $27 billion."The US is one of the Philippines' largest foreign investors and its third-largest trading partner. The American Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines runs a fantastic annual program called the Business Leadership Program.  If you are interested in learning more about the US companies operating in the Philippines, I encourage you to visit AmCham's website," he told the Boholano youth.

The US also considers the Philippines as its oldest ally in Asia, "forged by a history of shared sacrifice and common values ... enriched by the presence of more than four million Filipinos and Filipino-Americans in the US, and by some 300,000 Americans in the Philippines," Kim said.

He also mentioned that, for the last 70 years, the US government has been conducting annual exchange programs, such as the Fulbright scholarship, and the International Visitor Leadership Program, among others.

Kim said that one of the most pressing challenges that the two countries "should face together right now is the recovery from the Marawi Crisis." He said the US government—through USAID—has made available more than P1.2 billion for emergency relief operations and the long term recovery and rehabilitation of Marawi City and the surrounding area.

The US Embassy in the Philippines has been working to strengthen all aspects of the US-Philippine bilateral relations– from economic cooperation to people-to-people exchanges, to peace and security—citing the Mutual Defense Treaty and the Visiting Forces Agreement between the two countries.

"The US and the Philippines are, and will continue to be, friends, partners, and allies. We are committed to the security, stability, and prosperity of both our countries," Kim added.