BUSINESS leaders in Cebu hope that the country’s hosting and the meeting of Asean heads of state, which concludes today, will translate to inclusive growth and prosperity among the 10-member economies.
“We hope that we can learn from the best practices shared on how enabling the small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) will translate to inclusive growth and prosperity for all. We hope more jobs can be created out of the improved collaborative ties forged in the Asean as more investments pour in to our country,” said Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Melanie Ng.
The CCCI official also hopes that the country’s hosting of the summit will help member-states become more resilient and lessen its exposure to market vulnerabilities and other risks.
The country’s hosting of the Asean Summit 2017, which also marks the bloc’s 50th anniversary, is an opportune time for the Philippines to show off what it has in terms of trade and tourism, according to the business leaders.
The 30th Asean Summit is being chaired today by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte.
Glenn Anthony Soco, president of the Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry, yesterday said the business community is expecting stronger cooperation and collaboration with the Asean member countries.
“Businesses will likewise rethink and realign their strategies to prepare for the full Asean integration. Our hosting clearly gives us the edge to be a major player in the global community. The Philippines is the next big thing,” said Soco.
A report from the Philippine News Agency said that a 40-member business delegation from Indonesia is in Manila until today to attend the 30th Asean Summit and Related Meetings.
Most of the delegates are small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Indonesia looking at enhancing trade and investments in the Philippines, according to the Department of Trade and Industry. The Indonesian SMEs also conducted a series of business-to-business meetings with their Filipino counterparts.
Some eight memoranda of understanding (MOU) will be signed between Indonesian and Filipino business ownera, eyeing partnerships in water delivery, sewerage and sanitation services, cooperation agreements in property development, and the promotion and distribution of Indonesian products to the Philippines and vice versa.
Visa requirements
On the tourism front, Asean member-states are working on the creation of a single Asean visa, which will be implemented as early as this year. Thailand’s Tourism Minister Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul was quoted in a report saying Asean will work on a single visa despite some policy differences.
“It’s not easy, but we are not stopping. We have single visa committee working together,” Kobkarn said.
Tourism Secretary Wanda Teo also made an appeal to the different embassies to consult host countries before issuing travel warnings.
“We respect the decision of any country to take precautionary measures to protect their citizens but it is pivotal that a consultation be made with the destination country. Needless to say, countries like the Philippines tend to suffer the most when advisories are unjustly issued,” she said in a forum.
Teo’s appeal was in light of travel advisories cautioning tourists from traveling to the Philippines, particularly Central Visayas, after a recent encounter between security forces and a terror group in Bohol earlier this month.