MANILA — President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. will be in San Francisco, California in United States next week to attend the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leader’s Summit this year, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Tuesday.

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Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Charles Jose said Marcos, Jr. would be in the US state from Nov. 15 to 17, 2023 to raise issues on clean energy, innovation, and digitalization.

"The President is keen to push for financing a just, sustainable and affordable energy transition through partnerships with the business sector," Jose told Palace reporters.

"He will emphasize the need to invest more on clean energy to preserve and protect the environment while ensuring that we are energy secure and sufficient," he said.

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"With our experience from the COVID-19 pandemic, the President wishes to push for deeper cooperation in health and modernizing health systems and to ensure that our health professionals are recognized and provided with welfare they deserve," he added.

Aside from this, Marcos Jr. will push for the cooperation in food security, research and development, and inclusivity.

This aims to "benefit our small farmers and in climate action given the urgent need to be resilient to climate change," he said.
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The President will have bilateral meetings, but their schedules have yet to be confirmed, he said.

LOS ANGELES, HONOLULU

Marcos will also have an economic briefing, meeting with US firms, and meet the Filipino community, according to the official.

After attending APEC, he will be in Los Angeles and Honolulu, Hawaii from Nov. 17 to 18, 2023, respectively.

The official said the President will also attend the APEC CEO Summit and the APEC Leaders Dialogue with the APEC Business Advisory Council.

The Philippines is a founding member of APEC in 1989, DFA said. The Philippines' top trading partners are APEC members, with total exports and imports accounting for 85 percent.

"APEC is important to the Philippines because it is the primary forum for our engagement with the other economies in the Asia Pacific Region," he said.

Video from PTV
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