FIRST SAY:
“The president of the United States has claimed, on more than one occasion, to be in dialogue with God. If he said that he was talking to God through his hairdryer, this would precipitate a national emergency. I fail to see how the addition of a hairdryer makes the claim more ridiculous or offensive.”
― Sam Harris, Letter to a Christian Nation
President Ferdinand Marcos went to Brunei, and will travel next to Singapore, with his entourage of Cabinet members and business delegation. This has been the way it is since he started touring the globe to proclaim to the world that the Philippines is now open for business—a catchword that had been used since the time of President P-Noy Aquino.
The president usually brings his secretaries of foreign affairs, tourism, trade, defense, agriculture to these trips. But after motherhood statements are aired and heard, after letters of intent, memorandums of understanding and memorandums of agreement are signed, after full government-to-government and state-to-state cooperation was promised, the task of business development and trade enhancement is left to the private sector.
This is the rationale behind the inclusion of the business delegation in every presidential foreign trip.
In the case of Brunei, it was reported that the sultanate’s business sector has joined the Asean Food Security Alliance (AFSA), which aims to strengthen the region’s food security.
Go Negosyo founder Joey Concepcion said AFSA works through strategic partnerships; technology and knowledge exchange of best practices and experiences; and expand market access and diversify agricultural enterprises within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean). Concepcion is head of the Asean Business Advisory Council (BAC) Philippines,
Brunei's participation in AFSA was formalized by the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in Jerudong, Brunei Darussalam, which coincides with President Marcos Jr.'s state visit to the sultanate on May 28 and 29.
The MoU stemmed from the initial agreement between the Asean BAC Brunei and Asean BAC Philippines last year during the Asean Summit in Jakarta, to jointly conduct studies and mentorship channels for potential agriculture, agriculture technology, food security, and agricultural entrepreneurship business models.
The new MoU now features a direct partnership between an agricultural company in the Philippines and Brunei. The private sectors of Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos and Thailand have also participated in this regional agriculture cooperation.
Concepcion signed for the Philippines, while Asean BAC Brunei Chairman Haslina Taib, represented by Asean BAC Brunei council member Musa Adnin, will signed for Brunei.
Brunei's MoU covers the exploration of ventures in land lease-holding arrangements, strategic partnerships, co-investment opportunities, and other collaborative options, initially covering rice, durian and poultry.
"These initiatives harness the strengths of the Asean private sector to strengthen food security in the region," said Concepcion.
AFSA was introduced during the Philippines private sector's visit to Malaysia in April, where it put forward several initiatives to enhance cooperation on food security and develop the region's micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.
As part of the AFSA initiative, Concepcion led Philippine agriculture companies on a visit to Malaysia in April to explore potential partnerships in oil palm, rubber, rice, dairy, poultry, pineapple, durian, banana, coconut and corn.
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During the Brunei leg of Bongbong’s trip, it was expected that the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Brunei Economy Program would hold a Philippine Business Forum to give the President an opportunity to invite the business community in the sultanate to come to the Philippines and invest here.
The business forum became also a venue to display ways by which to foster trade and investment collaborations centered on agribusiness, renewable energy, halal development, and prospects in the BIMP-EAGA region.
Marcos discussed how the Philippines and Brunei are focused on developing two key economic corridors: the West Borneo Economic Corridor, encompassing Brunei Darussalam; and the Greater Sulu-Sulawesi Corridor, covering Palawan and parts of Mindanao and are designed to integrate production with supply chains, offering abundant opportunities for SMEs to flourish.
The President also promises that through their partnership, they are going to create a strong halal industry. The Philippines has existing mechanisms in ASEAN and BIMP-EAGA to enhance the integration of the halal supply chains, he said.
It is distinctly remember the BIMP-EAGA, the Greater Sulu-Sulawesi Corridor, and the West Borneo Economic Corridor because I was present when the late former President Fidel V. Ramos forged these economic agreements with our neighbors in the South. This happened during FVR’s working visit to Jakarta, which I covered for the Bulletin.
This was followed by another state visit, this time by President Joseph “Erap” Estrada in Brunei, during his term.
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