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By Katrina Mennen A. Valdez, Reporter
The State of Illinois may grant its two-billion
dollar endowment to the Philippines’ small and medium enterprises
in a bid to spur trade relationship between the republic and the
state.
Trade Undersecretary Elmer C. Hernandez, who is
also the Board of Investments managing head, said the Philippines is
on the list of the State of Illinois’candidates for the fund,
which is programmed to be distributed among developing countries.
“In their bid to help developing countries,
such as the Philippines, and also to boost their trade relations
with other countries, the State of Illinois has spoken with us,”
Hernandez said.
He said that Rajinder Bedi, managing director of
the Illinois Office of Trade and Investment, is eyeing to pour the
fund in agriculture, bio-technology, information and communication
technology and food processing sectors.
Hernandez further said that the State of
Illinois and the Philippine government have forged a memorandum of
understanding that will lead to the strengthening of trade relations
between the state and the country.
Midwestern Illinois is the most demographically
diverse and fifth most populous in the United States. With Chicago
in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural
productivity in central and western Illinois, and natural resources
like coal, timber, and petroleum in the south, Illinois, the 21st
state to be admitted to the Union, has a broad economic base and is
a vital transportation hub. The Port of Chicago connects the Great
Lakes to the Mississippi River via the Illinois River.
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