Lawyer Naguib Sinarimbo, spokesperson for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) and concurrently serves as the BARMM’s Minister of the Interior and Local Government, has expressed the need for long-term stability in the region so that this may pave the way for investments in fields like trade and maritime development.
According to Sinarimbo Muslim Mindanao has vast potentials for economic development. Initial oil exploration works are ongoing “in the Sulu Sea and the Moro Gulf". Civil and military sources in 2019 estimated that the Sibutu Strait, which lies between the Sulu Archipelago and Indonesia’s Borneo, was host to some $51 billion worth of sea cargo every year. “This can be exploited through the development of a logistics hub not just for this region but for the country. So this offers a lot of potentials,” Sinarimbo said.
Source: Philippine New Agency 31 March 2021