MANILA, Feb. 27 (PIA) — The United States Government and the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (AmCham) on Tuesday launched a new partnership to further enhance the country’s business climate and sustain the economic gains achieved by the Aquino administration.
U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines Harry K. Thomas, Jr. in a statement said “the partnership pursues the goal of the U.S.-Philippines Partnership for Growth to sustain broad-based and inclusive economic growth in the country.”
Funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), The Arangkada Philippines Project (TAPP) implements the Joint Foreign Chambers of the Philippines’ recommendations to enhance the growth of key economic reform sectors and reforms under the U.S.-Philippines Partnership for Growth.
The launch was held during AmCham’s Arangkada Philippines Second Anniversary Forum, which serves as one of TAPP’s annual highlights.
AmCham President Rhicke Jennings welcomes this partnership as an opportunity to engage with the government and partners in the private sector to institute critical business and economic reform measures that will lead to greater investments and inclusive economic growth.
“While we recognize the ongoing and considerable gains in terms of economic growth and reforms in governance, many challenges remain for the Philippines to realize its potential to become a middle income economy,” Jennings said.
He added that through TAPP, USAID and AmCham will work with government, private sector, and other stakeholders to accomplish the goal of high and inclusive growth.
TAPP advocates the implementation of nearly 500 recommendations to create $75 billion in foreign direct investments, 10 million new jobs, and $1 trillion in new tax revenues through rapid development of priority growth sectors — agribusiness, creative industries, manufacturing and logistics, infrastructure, mining, and tourism.
Meanwhile, U.S. Embassy Manila’s USAID Philippines Mission Director Gloria D. Steele said that the US government aims to enhance the growth of key economic reform sectors and further improve the investment climate in the Philippines.
Arangkada Philippines is a comprehensive advocacy paper intended to share recommendations leading potentially to the creation of $75 billion in new foreign investment, 10 million jobs and over one trillion pesos in revenue for the Philippine economy within this decade. (US Embassy Manila-Public Affairs Section/RJB/JEG/PIA-NCR)
Source: Jimmyley I. Guzman, Philippine Information Agency, 27 February 2013
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