US official to visit PH over Pax Silica plans
A ranking US Department of State official is expected to arrive in the country next week to firm up plans to establish a 1,600-hectare industrial hub in the Luzon Economic Corridor as part of the Pax Silica initiative of US President Donald Trump.
The US Department of State said state undersecretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment Affairs Jacob Helberg will visit the Philippines to advance cooperation on technology and economic security between Manila and Washington.
Last year, Helberg led the launch of the Pax Silica, the state department’s “flagship effort on AI and supply chain security.”
Seven countries signed the Pax Silica Declaration in Washington DC last December, including Australia, Israel, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, United Kingdom and the United States
The Philippines signed the Pax Silica Declaration along with Greece, the Netherlands, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, India, Sweden, Finland and Norway.
The state department said in a statement that Helberg will visit the Philippines and Singapore from May 17 to May 21 to meet with government officials, private sector representatives and other member-states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to promote efforts toward building a “secure, resilient, innovation-driven technology ecosystem.”
The visit followed the April 16 signing of the Pax Silica Declaration, a US-led initiative aimed at securing supply chains for semiconductors and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies.
