BERLIN, Germany — The Philippines and Germany have renewed their 70-year bilateral ties as they expand their cooperation in common areas of interest particularly in trade, investment, and labor.

In a joint press conference following their tete-a-tete at the Chancellery here in Berlin, the President described his meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz as "productive and meaningful" and "fruitful and enriching."

"I eagerly anticipate the continuation of our strong partnership for another 70 years or more," he said on Tuesday (Berlin time).

"With confidence, I believe we can deepen our relationship and collaborate for the mutual prosperity of our countries," he added.

According to Marcos, he discussed with Scholz ways to enhance trade and investments, recognizing the presence of German companies in the Philippines, including Siemens, Lufthansa, Deutsche Bank, Bayer, and Bosch.

"Germany was the Philippines’ 11th trading partner in 2023 and has been a major source of foreign direct investment," he said.

"Our economic dynamism is mainly driven by strong domestic consumption, supported by a diverse labor market, growing services industry, and remittances," he added.

President Marcos said the Philippines is now a more attractive option given the legal reforms that allow full foreign ownership on certain sectors such as railways, airports, expressways, telecommunications, and renewable energy to new heights.

He added that the Philippines is open to cooperating with Germany in other areas such as manufacturing, construction and infrastructure, IT-BPM, innovation and startups, renewable energy, and minerals processing.

Labor

Meanwhile, President Marcos reaffirmed his commitment to protect the rights and welfare of Filipinos in Germany as the latter expressed its interest in expanding labor cooperation to include other Filipino skilled workers and professionals.

Towards this end, both countries decided to renew the Cooperation Programme between Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training during his visit.

"Both sides are also working towards the conclusion of the Memorandum of Agreement on the Placement of Skilled Workers and Other Professionals," Marcos said.

"We will continue to work on other agreements across various areas of cooperation, and look forward to their conclusion in the near future," he added.