The city government of Davao has welcomed delegations from different countries and sister cities during the weeklong celebration of Kadayawan 2025.
Acting Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte met with leaders and representatives from Palau, Japan, the United States, China, South Korea, Singapore, and Russia at Dusit Thani Residences in Lanang on August 15.
The courtesy meetings were part of Invest Davao: Kadayawan Global Connect 2025, a three-day event organized by the Davao City Investment Promotion Center (DCIPC).
According to the city government, the activities were part of the Kadayawan Festival, aiming to strengthen friendships and explore new opportunities for trade, investments, culture, and education.
DCIPC Head April Dayap said 113 foreign delegates from seven different countries attended the event, 32 of them were foreign companies who joined the business forum along with 90 local companies in Davao City.
Among the guests were Eyos Rudimch, Governor of the Koror State Government in Palau; Yamamoto Yuma, Mayor of Sennan City Government in Japan; Zheng Feng, Deputy Secretary-General of the Dalian Municipal People’s Government in China; and Ria J. Jumawan Johnson, Tacoma Sister Cities Co-Chair from the Tacoma City Government in the USA.
Also present were representatives from foreign chambers and the private sector, including delegates from South Korea, Russia, Singapore, as well as Fuzhou City and Nanning City in China, and Japan.
In his message, Duterte expressed his gratitude to the delegates for accepting the city’s invitation to visit Davao in time for the Kadayawan Festival.
Duterte underscored that the event is a gathering imbued with the spirit of collaboration and goodwill.
“Just as the Kadayawan brings together the eleven ethnolinguistic tribes of Davao, so too are we gathered here today, representatives from various nations and cultures coming together in a spirit of collaboration and goodwill ties with our city,” he said.
Duterte also said that Davao City’s sister cities are extremely vital, but creating opportunities to bridge other communities and establish new linkages is also meaningful.
“Please allow Davao City as a bridge that enables everyone here to engage explore shared interest and build alliances, because regardless of our backgrounds we all share in the same goal to bring prosperity stability and peace in our respective communities and the best way to do this is to learn from each other and support one another,” Duterte said.
Duterte also hoped that the discussions during business meetings would create avenues and mutual growth that would bring lasting benefits to the delegates’ respective communities.
The acting mayor said he is looking forward to bringing in more sister city agreements in the future.
“The very objective is to invite more foreign delegates and also foreign guests to come to Davao, especially the investors to make network with them, and we can build a relationship with them so that they can see potential opportunities where they can put their capital and investment here in Davao,” Dayap said.
Dayap shared that the delegates were very impressed with the city’s peace and order, cleanliness, and the good leadership.
The delegates were also able to witness the various Kadayawan 2025 activities.
