European businessmen reacted ‘positively’ as President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. stayed committed to the regional economic integration initiatives and “soldiering on” despite catching colds in Brussels, Belgium. 

“European business leaders reacted very positively on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s speech during a C-Suite Luncheon with European Business Leaders before the 10th ASEAN-EU business summit in which he called for more European investments in the Philippines as well as he asked for more support from Europe on climate action issues,” said European Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines (ECCP)  Executive Director Florian Gottein said in a statement.

European businessmen then described the summit as a “much-needed dialogue” between the European Union (EU) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), as the EU is an important “trade and investment partner to ASEAN.”

Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo said European leaders were impressed because Marcos “valiantly and heroically soldiered on.”

“Damang-dama ho natin, hindi po nanggagaling sa atin ‘to, pero galing mismo doon sa mga European businessmen. They were very impressed because the president valiantly and heroically soldiered on,” said Rodolfo. 

“Lahat po ng mga meeting niya with the businessmen, pinuntahan niya ho kahit ho wala na siyang boses, talagang pinilit niya ho mabigay ‘yung mensahe niya. Sabi niya, the messages have to come from me as the President of the Philippines, inviting the investors,” he added. 

President Marcos, in his speech, said the EU-ASEAN Business Council remains to “play a crucial role in the advancement of ASEAN’s regional economic integration and post-pandemic economic recovery efforts.” 

“We do this through its initiatives and valuable insights, which have been useful towards the prioritization of initiatives targeting the ASEAN’s regional economic integration. Through the ASEAN-EU Trade and Investment Work Programme, we hope to continue this momentum for 2023 and beyond,” said Marcos.