Vice Mayor Melchor Quitain Jr. bared to Edge Davao that British Embassy Political Counsellor Andrew Bowes paid a courtesy meeting with him on Monday to discuss potential areas of investment in Davao City.
The vice mayor said Bowes inquired about the agricultural products that Davao City has and that the British government would like to help and assist the city in this sector through mutual cooperation, exchange of ideas, and collaboration.
“It was a casual meeting and Mr. Bowes was very pleasant and eager to visit again soon,” Quitain said.
According to Ernst & Young (EY), the United Kingdom is currently the largest European investor in the Philippines, which recorded 985 Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) projects in 2023, marking a 6% increase from 2022 and placing the Philippines as the second most attractive country for FDI in Europe.
Likewise, most European tourists who visit the Philippines come from the United Kingdom, with about 90,000 visitors yearly.
Quitain said another reason of Bowes’ visit was to know the situation in the city as the British government is planning to come up with a travel advisory favorable to Davao City.
“They would like to know the situation so that they can come up with a travel advisory knowing that Japan already issued a favorable travel advisory to Davao City, they would like to do the same that is why they visited (Davao),” Quitain said.
It can be recalled that on December 19, 2024, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan revised the overseas travel safety information including the risk level (Travel Advisory) for parts of Mindanao. Japan lowered the the travel advisory of Davao Oriental, Davao de Oro, Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, and Davao Occidental) from “Level 2” to “Level 1” while Mati City, Tagum City, Island Garden of Samal, Davao City, and Digos City have remained at Level 1.
Quitain said the courtesy meeting was an initiative of the British Embassy to visit local government units (LGUs) around the Philippines and to meet with government officials and other key stakeholders, learn more about their priorities, and explore potential areas of cooperation.
