20 January 2022, Cagayan de Oro City— Consul General Yoshiaki Miwa of the Japanese Consulate in Davao paid a courtesy exit visit to Cagayan de Oro City Mayor Oscar S. Moreno.

The visit caps a relationship proactively cultivated by both parties, which began with Cagayan de Oro’s participation in the Business Conference that highlighted the 100th Anniversary of the Davao Japanese Community in October of 2019.

Since then, Cagayan de Oro has headlined the Online Business Seminar on Transportation and Energy: Investment Prospects and Opportunities for Metropolitan Cagayan de Oro and Northern Mindanao Region, as well as the Business Webinar on Metro Davao and Metro Cagayan de Oro, both organized last year by the Consulate General and the Region X Office of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).

Cagayan de Oro’s latest collaboration with the Consulate General is the Seeds Needs program, Consul General Miwa’s brainchild, which aims to link industry, the academe, and government, to foster innovation and industry sophistication towards the overarching goal of regional development.

The Cagayan de Oro Trade and Investment Promotions Center (Oro-TIPC) is set to host the fourth in a series of webinars that features the fruits of this approach, starting with the Kitakyushu Foundation for the Advancement of Industry, Science and Technology, then Keihanna Science City, and most recently, the Oulu Innovation Alliance.

Next up on January 28 will be the Japan Cosmetic Center, see the poster below to join!

Cagayan de Oro City Mayor Oscar Moreno presented development prospects for Metropolitan Cagayan de Oro (Metro CDO) at the Business Webinar on Metropolitan Davao and Metropolitan Cagayan de Oro organized by the Consulate of Japan in Davao City, and the Region X and XI Offices of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).

Also featured at the webinar were Consul General Miwa Yoshiaki, who opened the proceedings, NEDA XI Regional Director Maria Lourdes D. Lim, CESO II, who gave an overview of the activity, and NEDA Undersecretary Mercedita P. Sombilla, who laid out the role of Mindanao in National Development.

Davao City Mayor Sara Z. Duterte, outlined development prospects in Metro Davao while Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (DCCCII) President Dr. Lourdes Monteverde, introduced Metro Davao investment opportunities.

In his presentation, Mayor Moreno stressed the importance of developing both the northern and southern entry points to the island of Mindanao, underscoring this as the trigger for east and west to follow suit.

He proceeded to highlight the locational and logistical advantages of Metro CDO, the strong economic performance of the region, the competitiveness of the metro’s constituent cities and municipalities, the soundness of its core infrastructure, history of successful collaborations with international partners--including the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), and the delicate balance that we have worked hard to maintain between health and economy.

The Mayor ended with an overview of big ticket projects in the metro, such as, the Metro CDO Railway, Transit Oriented Housing, Waste-to-Energy, Water Supply Improvement, and Metro Cable Car projects, as well as the proposed Science, Technology and Innovation Hub of the University of Science and Technology of Southern Philippines (USTP) in Alubijid, Misamis Oriental. 

“Strike gold in Metro Cagayan de Oro!” Mayor Moreno invited the participants, which included Japanese firms specializing in agribusiness and food, the automotive industry, banking, construction, energy, logistics, and telecommunications, and included Chief Representative of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Philippine Office, Azukizawa Eigo.

Cagayan de Oro Chamber of Commerce and Industry Foundation, Inc. (ORO CHAMBER) President Ruben Vegafria, reinforced the Mayor’s invitation by presenting a comprehensive picture of Metro Cagayan de Oro as an investment destination, outlining opportunities for investment in various sectors, such as, food and materials processing, tourism, transportation, and communications.

Prior to a brief open forum, Shimizu Corporation Manager Isoda Susumo presented his company’s profile including their ongoing implementation of the Davao City Bypass Road Project, which includes the first ever long distance mountain tunnel in the country.

NEDA X Regional Director Mylah Faye Aurora B. Cariño, CESO III closed the proceedings with a message to the participants to strike gold in the rich and still largely unmined economic and development frontiers that are Metro Davao and Metro Cagayan de Oro.n