Pres. Marcos pushes nuclear energy...

"Leading the charge are our ongoing discussions with the United States on the 123 Agreement, which will provide the legal framework for civil and nuclear-related investments, particularly nuclear power, in our country," he added. Together with the U.S. and other partners, especially the private sector, Marcos said that "we will build the necessary infrastructure to help power a growing economy, as we transition to clean and renewable energy."

"We recognize the rule that we have set for ourselves that is the slow transition and it is slow. We all have great hopes that the transition to renewables will be easy or simple. It turns out that is not going to be the case and we have to be realistic in this regard," Marcos said.

"And so, the rule we [applied] for ourself is first of all is that we must be able to provide sufficient power for the development of our industry, sufficient power so that we can expand the economy, and it must be accompanied by a continuing effort to move our power sources from the traditional fossil fuels to renewable sources of energy," he added. Marcos expressed hope to see more engagements involving both the two countrie's governments and private sectors, especially in mobilizing financial resources for investments in key areas such as critical infrastructure, research and development, and human capital development.

"I hope we can count on your support for this. I cannot stress more how important private sector support has been to all the planning that we have done. One of the key features of the economic policies since I took office is that we have initiated, we started what we call a whole-of-government approach," he said.

For its part, the U.S.-Asean Business Council, the largest American business contingent, pledged to pursue more investments in the Philippines.