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Manila Bulletin devider devider PH, Czech forge economic agreement

PH, Czech forge economic agreement

Published Apr 26, 2018 07:58 am
By Roy Mabasa Bilateral relations between the Philippines and the Czech Republic reached a new height following the handing over of the Note conveying Manila’s completion of its domestic requirements for the enforcement of the Economic Cooperation Agreement (ECA) between the two countries. PH-Czech signs Defense Cooperation Agreement in areas such as defense & security, procurement, logistics, peacekeeping (Roy Mabasa / MANILA BULLETIN) PH-Czech signs Defense Cooperation Agreement in areas such as defense & security, procurement, logistics, peacekeeping (Roy Mabasa / MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO) Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Undersecretary for Economic Relations Manuel Teehankee turned over the Note to Czech Republic Deputy Foreign Minister for Non-European Countries Martin Tlapa during the latter’s visit to the country last week. Both countries signed the ECA in Manila on July 31, 2017, followed by the signing of the Instrument of Ratification by President Rodrigo Duterte on April 3, 2018. In a statement, the DFA explained that the Philippines-Czech Republic ECA provides for the establishment of a Joint Economic Commission (JEC) that will serve as a platform to discuss trade, investments, economic cooperation and other related matters. During their meeting, Deputy Foreign Minister Tlapa conveyed his country’s interest to invest in the Philippines, particularly in the fields of defense, energy, water treatment, transport, and agriculture. The Czech Republic is hailed as the most industrialized EU nation, with over 32 percent of its economy formed by industry, mainly from transportation products (cars, trains, trams, buses as well as planes and subways), chemical and medical industries, as well as in defense industry. Presently, it has an unemployment rate of less than 3 percent as of December 2017, the lowest among the 28 European Union (EU) member states. Negotiations on the ECA actually started way back in 2004 and had gone back and forth from Manila to Prague multiple times, for extensive revisions and fine-tuning of legal matters, according to the Czech Republic Embassy in Manila. The ECA, it added, “spells out a great number of opportunities” by promoting trade and industrial cooperation and facilitating networking activities in areas of mutual interest. The discussion between the Philippine and Czech officials also focused on the soon-to-be-implemented labor cooperation following the Czech Republic’s decision to hire 1,000 workers from the Philippines every year. Tlapa was the second highest-ranking Czech official to visit the Philippines this year. Early this month, Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and Consular Affairs Martin Smolek was in Manila to discuss the impending deployment of Filipino workers to the Czech Republic with his counterparts at the Department of Labor and Employment. The total bilateral trade between the two countries reached USD 283.32 million in 2016, making the Czech Republic the country’s 31st biggest trading partner in the world and 9th among the EU members.
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