During the meeting with President Marcos, VP Harris said she is glad they were “able to continue to do the work that we have that is a priority around our mutual prosperity and security.”
SPEAKER Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez on Tuesday (US time) said the meeting between President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos, Jr. with US Vice President Kamala Harris expands on the gains on the initiatives for the advancement of the partnership between the two countries announced during her first visit to the Philippines last year.
President Marcos and his wife, First Lady Louise Araneta-Marcos, met with VP Harris and her husband, Second Gentleman Dough Emhoff, at the Number One Observatory Circle, in Washington D.C., the official residence of the vice president of the United States.
Joining the First Couple in the meeting were Speaker Romualdez, Ambassador Jose Manuel Romualdez, and House senior Deputy Majority Leader and Ilocos Norte Rep. Sandro Marcos.
“It is heartening to note that during the meeting over coffee between President Marcos and VP Harris, the two officials reiterated their commitment to secure and advance the mutually beneficial initiatives she announced when she visited the Philippines,” Speaker Romualdez said.
“It boosts our hope and confidence that effort to bolster the time-tested ties between the US and the Philippines would ultimately benefit the Filipino people in terms of increased foreign investments that would generate more jobs, livelihood as well as business opportunities for our people,” he added.
During the meeting with President Marcos, VP Harris said she is glad they were “able to continue to do the work that we have that is a priority around our mutual prosperity and security.”
Cooperation on Energy
It could be recalled that in November last year, VP Harris visited the Philippines to deepen economic and security ties between the two countries.
She also announced various initiatives covering climate action, energy security, and sustainable infrastructure, among others.
Included in these energy-related initiatives is the establishment of a new high-level policy dialogue aimed at developing new forms of energy cooperation, including potential projects on short and long-term energy planning, offshore wind development, and grid stability and power transmission.
Likewise, Harris’ office later bared the opening of negotiations on a civil nuclear cooperation agreement that will support nonproliferation priorities and zero-emission energy security initiatives of the Philippines.
“The availability of cheap and reliable supply of electricity is indispensable in our effort to attract investments that would create more jobs and livelihood opportunities for our people and so he is exploring all viable alternatives, including renewables and nuclear energy, to achieve this end,” Speaker Romualdez said.
“I am confident that President Marcos’ official visit to the US would further advance his administration’s efforts in the area of energy security,” he added.
On Monday, a top US nuclear energy firm NuScale Power Corporation expressed during their meeting with President Marcos their interest to invest in the Philippines and bared plans for a study to locate an appropriate site in the country for their advanced Small Modular Reactor (SMR).
NuScale officials said that an amount of $6.5B to $7.5B worth of investment is needed to provide 430 Megawatts to the country by 2030.
Also included among the scheduled engagements of President Marcos with US business interests on Tuesday is a meeting with representatives of another US developer and supplier of SMR, as well as a manufacturer of solar panels.
