President Benigno Aquino III hailed the Canadian government for being the Philippines’ partner in strengthening security cooperation and fighting crime and terrorism in the Asia-Pacific region even as he expressed optimism on the looming expansion of Philippine-Canadian trade.
Aquino arrived in Manila on board Philippine Airlines flight PR001 at 3:04 am Monday (Sunday here).
In Vancouver alone, the last stop of his three-city swing in Canada, the Vancouver-based Aquilini Investment Group, the holding company for a diverse group of businesses, including ownership of Vancouver Canucks and Rogers Arena, committed to expand its investments and business activities in the Philippines, Aquino said.
Aquilini, which has invested more than P1.3 billion in waste recycling and energy conversion in Cebu province, expressed interest in investing in the country’s tourism and agriculture sectors, he said.
“I was surprised to learn that aside from corn, they’re also interested in growing blueberries and cranberries here,” Aquino said. “They’re really planning to do it within the next year and a half,” he added.
“If we can plant strawberries in the provinces of Bukidnon, Quezon and Benguet, can these places also be suitable for blueberries and cranberries?” he wondered.
President Aquino and British Columbia Premier Christy Clark earlier witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding to facilitate the employment of Filipinos in British Columbia, home to some 136,000-strong Filipino community.
An agreement signed by Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz and Teresa Watt, British Columbia minister for international trade, would enforce existing regulations intended to protect workers.
The agreement is geared toward the elimination of barriers to certification, recognition and matching of skills and qualifications of Filipino migrant workers.
During the state visit, the Philippines and Canada also signed a framework agreement on mutual accountability spelling out their commitment to reduce poverty in the Philippines, and a memorandum of understanding expanding collaboration in occupational health and safety to create safer workplaces.
President Aquino and Harper likewise agreed to explore the possibility of forging a free trade agreement between the Philippines and Canada. The bilateral trade between both countries is estimated to be worth nearly $20 billion.
In a roundtable hosted by the Asia-Pacific Foundation of Canada in Toronto, TD Bank Group chair Franck McKenna said Canadian business was impressed with the Philippines’ ascent in global competitiveness because of transparency and good government policies.
CEOs of other Canadian firms, upbeat about the Philippine economy, also expressed interest in investing in the country.
In Chicago, where he made a one-day working visit before proceeding to Canada, President Aquino met with businessmen belonging to the US Chamber of Commerce, US-Asean Business Council and the National Center for APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation).
“Some of them expressed interest in expanding their business operations in our country,” Aquino said.
