Recto calls on businesses to turn ASEAN agreements into jobs and investment

Philippine Executive Secretary Ralph Recto urged companies at the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit to use regional trade arrangements to generate investment and employment, while bringing smaller firms into regional supply chains.

Recto said ASEAN leaders were expected to sign the Digital Economy Framework Agreement during the Philippines’ chairmanship. It seeks to improve the security and ease of data transfers across borders. He also said talks on the ASEAN-Canada Free Trade Agreement had concluded, opening the way to wider markets for goods and services.

He asked businesses to seek customers and partners in new markets and flag obstacles that governments could resolve. He said the agreements’ value would depend on whether they helped enterprises gain customers, attract capital and create employment.

On energy and food security, Recto sought investment in electricity grids, a wider mix of energy sources, storage and coordination of emergency reserves. He also called for cold storage, food hubs and better transport connections to cut agricultural waste. The ASEAN Power Grid and ASEAN Food Security Alliance needed concrete projects and investment, he said.

Recto said smaller businesses needed affordable digital tools, practical training and accessible support as artificial intelligence changes work. He called for closer connections between the region’s manufacturing, technology, agriculture, finance and workforce capabilities.

In the Philippines, Recto said CREATE MORE and more open foreign investment rules were intended to ease investment and expansion. He highlighted the Luzon Economic Corridor’s infrastructure, logistics, energy and digital connectivity goals, alongside a planned 1,600-hectare technology hub in Clark intended to support innovation and advanced manufacturing.