MANILA (Reuters) – U.S. Commerce Secretary says U.S. companies will announce more than $1 billion in investments in the Philippines Gina Raimondo He said this during an official visit to Manila on Monday.
He said investments will be in areas such as solar energy, electric vehicles and digitalization, adding that US companies are keen to do business in the Southeast Asian country.
Raimondo is in Manila on a two-day trade and investment mission on behalf of President Joe Biden. Her delegation includes executives from companies such as GreenFire Energy, Inc., Google Asia Pacific, Visa, United Airlines, and KKR.
The White House announced in January that it would send a trade mission to increase the contribution of U.S. companies to the Philippines' key sectors, including infrastructure, clean energy, critical minerals, agriculture and the innovation economy.
The Philippines and the United States are longtime allies, bound by a mutual defense treaty 73 years ago. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is aiming to deepen the relationship, not only through defense cooperation but also through economic partnership.
“The U.S.-Philippines alliance is ironclad,” Raimondo said at a joint press conference with Philippine officials. “That has been the case for over 72 years, and we remain steadfast friends and increasingly prosperous partners.”
(Reporting by Mikhail Flores and Karen Lema; Editing by Kanupriya Kapur)
