THE Cagayan de Oro Chamber of Commerce and Industry Foundation Inc. is gearing up for what is tagged as the biggest gathering of business executives and policy makers in Mindanao, the 26th Mindanao Business Conference (MinBizcon) on September 7 to 9, 2017, at the Xavier Estates Sports and Country Club, Upper Balulang, this city.
About 1,000 business executives, investors, industry players, policy makers, micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) are expected to attend this year's business conference with the theme "Emerging Opportunities-One Mindanao".
Oro Chamber President Robert Pizzaro said foreign guests from the United States and Russia have expressed interest in attending the event.
President Rodrigo Duterte will be the event’s keynote speaker.
Pizarro said the Russians are particularly interested in Mindanao's agricultural products, and are also looking at helping develop the agriculture sector in the island.
Ruben Vegafria, chairman of MinBizcon 2017 said both government and private sectors are set to discuss issues and concerns surrounding the business community in Mindanao, which focuses on agri-business industry.
"There should be a government perspective and a private perspective to help us craft policies and action plans," Vegafria said.
Vegafria said papers the MinBizcon papers will form part of the action and policy agenda of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) to submit to the President during the annual Philippine Business Conference held every October.
City Mayor Oscar Moreno for his part lauded the Oro Chamber for its track record in holding MinBizcon, which the city hosted for about five times already.
"What is important is, I think the strength of Cagayan de Oro is its business community, wherever you are, in any community that seeks to attract investors, it’s very important that you have a good business group because it is through them, that the investors also assess the potentials of the place," Moreno said.
"The city is good in efficiency, the most important thing is also the teamwork between the government and business sector," he said.
"With us hosting, this is Northern Mindanao’s announcing to the world that we are here and we are a good investment destination." Moreno added.
Last year's host was the Surigao Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) and has tackled issues on Mindanao's capability to sustain inclusive growth including concerns affecting the agricultural and tourism sector, among others.
Issues which will be taken up by this year's MinBizcon remains to be seen as roadshows will still be taken up in cities in Mindanao to determine the whole businesses' concerns.