PRESIDENT Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said during the Philippine Economic Briefing in New York City in the United States (US) that the best time to invest in the country is “now,” as it is on its way to “strong recovery” from the Covid-19 pandemic.Marcos said that as the country slowly rebuilt its economy for rapid growth, the government created an even wider space for mutually beneficial investments.“The Philippines is a reliable host for international partnerships. The country’s favorable business climate is shored up by the sound macroeconomic fundamentals and a clear roadmap for economic recovery and sustained growth,” he said in his speech.“In fact, our projected economic performance in the medium term is expected to surpass our regional neighbors,” he added.Marcos vowed to further open the country’s doors for high-value investments from both the domestic and international business communities in a bid to ensure the Philippine’s bright economic future, noting its priorities on broad-based job creation, the expansion of digital infrastructure and research and development.He said his government formulated a comprehensive eight-point socioeconomic agenda that aims to dramatically cut poverty incidence and elevate the country to upper-middle-income status.“In the near term, we will address the impact of growing inflationary pressures due to rising global prices of key commodities such as food and fuel. We will ensure domestic food security by boosting local food production and continue the provision of targeted support for sectors most affected by the rise in fuel prices,” said Marcos.“In the medium term, we will bolster job creation by intensifying investments in infrastructure and human capital development. And certainly, it is important that we exercise fiscal prudence in the fulfillment of this agenda,” he added.He said they will implement a fiscal consolidation strategy to secure the fiscal stability of the country’s macroeconomic fundamentals.He vowed to continue the country’s high investments in public infrastructure by harnessing our public private partnerships mechanism, improve the interconnectivity of transport networks by fast-tracking the development and enhancement of railway systems, airports, seaports, and road infrastructure and to also focus on agriculture as a strong driver for growth.He noted that an efficient and modern agriculture sector will ensure food security for all and reduce poverty incidence.He said the Philippines will also reinvigorate the tourism sector by investing in travel infrastructure and the promotion of the Filipino brand.“And therefore, we invite strategic investors from the United States to take part in this Philippines economic resurgence. Key structural reforms have been set into place to allow for wider participation in our industries,” said Marcos.“With the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act or what we refer to as CREATE and the economic liberalization measures, we have expanded the space for foreign investments in previously protected sectors, especially those that employ advanced technologies and research and development activities,” he added.Marcos is in New York to attend the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly.In the sidelines of his working visit in the US, Marcos also met with the executives of Procter & Gamble, which started doing business in the Philippines 80 years ago, as well as officials of Sutherland Global Services, which offers business process transformation through an integrated portfolio of analytics-driven IT services, back-office and customer facing solutions that provide support to the entire customer lifecycle. (SunStar Philippines)