MANILA – The Philippines and the United States are co-hosting the 2024 Indo-Pacific Business Forum (IPBF) in Manila on May 21, the US State Department announced.
The IPBF, last held in Tokyo, is a US-led initiative that seeks to gather government and business leaders from America and countries across the region to explore partnerships and commercial opportunities.
The forum’s key topics this year will be centered on clean energy, digital transformation, supply chain resiliency, transportation infrastructure and emerging technologies.
The event will also feature enhanced matchmaking to advance business partnerships.
“The IPBF advances a vision for an Indo-Pacific region that is free and open, connected, prosperous, secure, and resilient,” the State Department said in a statement dated Feb. 12.
“Together with our Philippine co-hosts, we are underscoring our sustained commitment to the region and highlighting the economic ties that have contributed to regional prosperity and interconnectedness,” it added.
Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary for American Affairs Jose Victor Chan-Gonzaga said both the US and the Philippines are currently finalizing the attendees.
The IPBF will convene some 500 chief executive officers, project developers, government officials and sources of financing from across the region, according to the US Trade and Development Agency.
It will follow the highly-anticipated US Presidential Trade and Investment Mission to the Philippines that will be led by US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo on March 11 and 12.
READ: Biden sending presidential trade mission to PH on March 11
The State Department said US companies continue to be the top source of foreign direct investments in the region with nearly USD1 trillion in investments. Roughly the same is invested in the United States by firms in the region.
The US also remains a major trade partner with more than USD2 trillion in two-way trade. (PNA)
