Carlos G. Dominguez
Secretary of Finance
Ballroom 3, 2nd Floor, Marco Polo Hotel, Davao City
October 29, 2018
Good Morning, State Councilor Wang Yi and the rest of the Chinese Delegation.
On behalf of the Philippine Government, I would like to welcome you and your delegation to Davao. We would like to take this opportunity to discuss the status of the cooperation agreements and documents to be executed during the visit of President Xi Jinping in November. I am joined here by my colleagues:
· Budget and Management Secretary Benjamin Diokno
· Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark Villar
· Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade
· Bases Conversion and Development Authority President and CEO Vivencio Dizon
· Ambassador Jose Santiago Sta. Romana
· Assistant Secretary Roderick Planta on behalf of Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia;
· and other senior government officials.
The High-Level Bilateral Meetings in Beijing, China, held in August were very successful. Both our Governments expressed full commitment to our shared goals of implementing the important consensus reached between our leaders, as well as bringing our bilateral relations to a higher level through enhanced cooperation in the areas of infrastructure, trade, investment and people-to-people exchanges. We greatly appreciate the Chinese Government’s assistance in translating this into concrete actions.
Further, as discussed during our meeting with China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA), we have established a Technical Working Group, composed of the Department of Finance (DOF), National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA), Philippine Embassy and the Chinese Embassy officials to orient ourselves with CIDCA’s organizational structure, procedures, and financing terms. Currently, we are crafting the Exchange of Notes that could push forward the financial cooperation under said facility.
May I now invite the State Councilor to issue his opening statement.
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