THE Philippines, United States and Japan have partnered on a venture that will boost connectivity between the key economic hubs of the country.
In a joint statement following the trilateral meeting today in Washington, D.C., leaders of the three nations introduced the first Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment corridor in the Indo-Pacific.
“Today we are launching the Luzon Economic Corridor, which will support connectivity between Subic Bay, Clark, Manila, and Batangas in the Philippines,” the joint statement said.
Through this corridor, Japan, the Philippines, and the United States commit to accelerating coordinated investments in high-impact infrastructure projects.
These projects include rail, ports modernization; clean energy and semiconductor supply chains and deployments, agribusiness and civilian port upgrades at Subic Bay.
Japan has long been supporting connectivity in this area, including rails and roads, through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
“We plan to work with multilateral organizations and the private sector to attract quality, transformative investments,” the statement said.
“Together we intend to hold a trilateral event promoting investment in the Luzon Corridor on the margins of the Indo-Pacific Business Forum in Manila in May—the premier U.S. commercial event in the region,” it added.
The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation also intends to open a regional office in the Philippines to facilitate further investments across the Philippines.
According to the statement, the Luzon Corridor is a demonstration of the three nations’ enhanced economic cooperation, focused on delivering tangible investments across multiple sectors.
Japan, the Philippines, and the United States are also partnering to expand cooperation and investments in other areas of the Philippines
