ZAMBOANGA CITY, Sept. 24 (PNA) -– The Philippine delegation, courtesy of this city, reaped three awards at the four-day 12th China-ASEAN Exposition (CAEXPO) in Nanning, China.
The 12th CAEXPO was held from September 18 to 21 at the Nanning International Convention and Exposition Center (NICEC) in Nanning, Guangzhou Autonomous Region in the People’s Republic of China.
Mayor Ma. Isabelle Climaco-Salazar said Thursday that two of the three awards — the best city of charm and the best trade organizer — were handed over to this city.
Salazar said the third award — best in investment promotion — was handed over to the Zamboanga City Special Economic Zone and Freeport Authority (Zamboecozone).
Salazar said that Zamboanga City, as this year’s “City of Charm” at the Philippine Pavilion, this city (on a tie with Thailand) bested all other city of charm pavilions from China and ASEAN in view of its capacity to draw crowd during the four-day CAEXPO.
Showcasing this city’s unique and colorful history and culture through songs and dances including the beautiful sites and attractions, the Zamboanga – Philippine pavilion was crowded with people from all over, showing interest in the presentations and taking photos with the Zamboangueño dancers.
The best trade organizer award was based on the capacity of the Zamboanga-Philippine delegation to draw the most number of trade visitors and buyers.
Zamboanga’s products–Sotto delicacies, EJT bottled goods, Universal Canning sardines–were the best sellers at the Philippine commodity trade pavilion.
The best investment promotion award was based on the quality of the conferences organized by the Philippines that showed to China and ASEAN that the country can invite high level officials and at the same time produce good quality conferences.
Zamboecozone Chairman and Administrator Christopher Lawrence Arnuco represented the country during conferences related to industrial parks and Philippine promotions. Salazar also pitched for Zamboanga’s potentials.
This is the third time that the Philippines won the best investment promotion conference award and this year, it is a tie with Laos and Myanmar.
Salazar expressed pride and thanked the members of the delegation that worked hard for the achievements, specifically the City Investment and Promotions division headed by Angelique Go as well as the members of the City Council, the department heads and the representatives from the Zamboanga Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Los Contratistas de Zamboanga and the exhibitors and the small medium enterprises (SMEs) that supported the promotion campaign for this city.
“We thank everyone who worked hard for the success of CAEXPO and the China business opportunities,” Salazar added.
For 12 years now, the CAEXPO has been a standout from other trade fairs bearing the missions of consolidating the friendly relationships between China and ASEAN, accelerating the China-ASEAN Free Trade Act (CAFTA) construction and promoting the cooperation between both sides in various fields. (PNA)