MANILA, Philippines — The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has expressed readiness to help the Philippines achieve sustainable growth and push for economic policies that would benefit more Filipinos, Malacañang said Wednesday.
According to the Presidential Communications Office, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva made the remark during a bilateral meeting with President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. in Davos Switzerland.
“We have been really interested to engage more deeply with our members to recognize the traditional challenges…they are still there,” Georgieva said, as quoted by the PCO in a statement.
During the meeting, Georgieva also lauded Marcos for his leadership amid the numerous “more immune and more complex challenges” faced by the Philippines.
“We found the Philippines to be an exceptionally well-performing country…what you have done in the last year of turbulence to sustain growth… is quite commendable,” she told the President.
As a special agency of the United Nations, the IMF focuses on promoting global monetary cooperation, ensuring financial stability and facilitating international trade, among others.
The Philippines joined the IMF on Dec 27, 1945.
For his part, Marcos raised the need to “go back to the basics,” noting the number of challenges faced by the country, especially in food supply.
“We have to go back to the basics because there are weaknesses in different systems like in food supply, energy, infrastructure, climate change… these are the basic problems that we need to be addressing,” he said.
The President also affirmed his administration’s push to scale up digitalization initiatives, which are vital in making the bureaucracy more efficient and effective.
“I hold a lot of hope and confidence in the new technologies… if you are adept with new technologies, you are already at [the] forefront… so that’s basically how we are approaching the problem,” Marcos said.
The bilateral meeting between Georgieva and Marcos took place at the sidelines of the 2023 World Economic Forum annual meeting, where the President attended to showcase the Philippines’ economic achievements.
He also articulated his administration’s vision as it steers the country toward recovery following the crippling impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
On Tuesday, the President and First Lady Louise Araneta-Marcos joined WEF founder and Chair Dr. Klaus Schwab and his wife, Hilde, in a private dinner.
Dr. Schwab invited President Marcos to attend the WEF during a meeting on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summits in Phnom Penh.
Marcos Jr. presents strength of PH economy at WEF meet in Davos