“THE Philippines is in a sweet spot,” Adrian Cristobal Jr., undersecretary for Industry Development and Trade Policy of the Department of Trade and Industry, said referring to the robust economic growth and the positive results of the country’s efforts to compete.
Cristobal who was the keynote speaker of the recently concluded Mindanao Food Congress held in the city last week presented the position of the country from the national level in the upcoming Asean Economic Community (AEC) in 2015.
“We have strong macroeconomic fundamentals, successive upgrades in credit ratings and regional developments,” he added.
Cristobal also said the country has industrial peace, something that other countries do not have which has been taken for granted and the population dividend that must be used to our advantage.
Cooperation and collaboration
Cristobal emphasized that AEC is about making trade and investments flow freely such as goods, services, investment, etc. thus, creating an enabling environment for businesses to prosper by seizing opportunities in the global market.
With this, he urged everyone to participate and in return reap the benefits in the development process.
As chairman for the committee for the AEC, Cristobal presented the game plan for AEC, the 4Cs: competitiveness, compliance, collaboration and communication.
“We need to enhance competitiveness, improve compliance, promote collaboration and intensify communication,” he added.
Cristobal stressed on collaboration, which consists of strengthening relationships between countries, public and private, inter-agencies, and the regions of the Philippines.
“The AEC is cooperation and collaboration, not a competition. Competition among ASEAN member states will be there, however, the approach should be more on cooperation and collaboration to be certain of the Philippines not being left behind in the globalization. There is nothing to fear if we follow the gameplan,” he furthered.
Organized by the Cagayan de Oro Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Oro Chamber) and partner sectors, the Mindanao Food Congress 2014 carrying the theme: “Aligning Mindanao Food Security in the ASEAN market” closed on Friday, September 26.
The congress also featured the annual Oro Best Expo.