THE European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP) signed a manifesto on Monday, April 1, expressing support for the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (DCCCII) and its upcoming Davao Investment Conference (ICon) 2019.
During a press conference, DCCCII president Art Milan said the ECCP will assist in promoting the conference within its network and encourage participation among its members to help position Davao City as an investment destination.
“We are very happy and delighted to get this support coming from ECCP. We have been trying to push this because over the past years, our island has been forgotten. And now we are trying to push as much to get all these investments coming. One is to provide employment here in Mindanao,” Milan said.
ECCP president Nabil Francis said they will give full support to attract more investors in the city as they have seen the investment potential of the area.
“We wanted people to realize that Davao City has a very strong potential for development and investments in the region. If we work as a team, if we work hand in hand, this will reap the fruit of labor,” Francis said.
Milan mentioned the advantages for investments in the region such as more lands available, good power situation, and safety and security.
The event also aims to promote more investments in other cities in Mindanao, not only in Davao.
“We are including the entire island of Mindanao as part of this. We have our own responsibility, as the key city in Mindanao, to promote as well the other areas of the island. So we are doing this not only for the city but for the rest of the cities in Mindanao,” he said.
The event targets to reach more than a thousand participants, both local and foreign entrepreneurs.
Among those who already confirmed their attendance are from Sarawak Business Federation from Malaysia with their Minister, some Chinese delegation, and Kitakyushu City and Hitachinaka of Japan.
“This is very important for us, especially because we wanted to balance the developments happening in Davao. We cannot just be in the service sector,” he said.