President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today said here this afternoon that the economies of Mindanao and Luzon are now connected with each other.

The President made this observation in her speech at the 13th Mindanao Business Conference being held at the Mindanao Convention and Trade Center in this city.

In her speech, the President said that the tie-up of Mindanao and Luzon materialized with the recent forging of a business agreement between Davao-based Nenita Food Corp, and the Pampanga meat processors based in Central Luzon.

The President noted that under the agreement, Nenita, the biggest hog raiser in Davao, would supply 10 tons of frozen meat a week to Pampanga meat processors.

The President added that the business link-up would lessen Pampanga meat processor’s dependence on imported meat.

Mrs. Macapagal-Arroyo also cited the decision of Clark-based Cyber City Teleservices Ltd. to put up a P60-million call center branch in Davao City which she inaugurated here this morning.

The President pointed out that when she took over the presidency in 2001, there were only 2,000 workers in the domestic call center sector. The figure has swelled to 60,000 over the past three and a half years.

The President also noted that aside from the information and communication sector which has shown impressive growth in MIndanao, the country’s tourism industry has also considerably improved, with Davao considered as one of the eight top tourist attraction in the Philippines today.