THE Philippines wants to seek joint ventures through public-private partnerships (PPPs) to get the full advantage of the new post-pandemic global economy, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said on Wednesday during a meeting in Bangkok with Thailand’s biggest company, CP Group.

During the meeting, President Marcos said his government made PPPs the centerpiece of the Philippine economic transformation, noting the government cannot do it alone.

“The centerpiece is our private and public partnership and this is something we feel we will need to encourage for the simple reason that it cannot be done just by government,” Marcos said.

According to the chief executive, the most important thing is that the administration was able to forecast which direction the economy is going and how the Philippines positions itself.

The President told CP Group officials that there is still so much potential and space for growth that could be explored with the company’s engagement and cooperation, as he thanked the leadership of CP Group for their continuing interest in the Philippines.

The Thai company has shown interest in putting more investments in aquaculture, especially fishery, swine, corn and rice production, as well as the development of the value chain of some of these industries.

The President recognized CP Group’s wealth of experience and its best practices, considering its presence in 21 countries in the world.

“The Department of Agriculture of the Philippines will go to your Philippine offices and we will begin by that, and maybe we will set a time when a team of Filipinos can come to Thailand. Then we can see what are the opportunities that you feel are going to be appropriate for the Philippines,” Marcos pointed out.

The CP Group is Thailand’s largest private company with a $2 billion investment in the Philippines.

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Ryan Ponce Pacpaco