PRAGUE, Czech Republic — President Marcos said Germany and the Czech Republic have backed the Philippines in its quest to resume the negotiations for the Philippines-European Union (EU) free trade agreement (FTA).

Marcos said this as he concluded his State Visit to Prague on Friday afternoon, March 15 (Czech time).

In an interview with reporters here, the President said EU countries like Germany and the Czech Republic have been consistent in their positive stand about the resumption of the FTA talks.

"When they talk about the FTA with the EU, they are consistent in their positioning and, yes, they say that, 'Yes, we are very much in favor of that,'" he said.

"Ang tingin talaga sa region natin magiging (They our region becoming the) driver [of] world economy. That’s why I think the EU has shown a particular interest in ASEAN, in Asia, and in the Indo-Pacific," he added.

In his speech during the Philippines-Czech Business Forum at the Czernin Palace, President Marcos underscored the importance of the resumption of the Philippine-EU FTA in achieving shared goals of stability, economic growth, and sustainable development in the region.

“Moreover, we seek the support of the Czech Republic for the resumption of the Philippine-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations,” he said.

“We believe that the resumption of these negotiations will be a big step in furthering our trade relations, with the end view to establish a stable, predictable, and enabling business environment that promotes inclusive and sustainable growth and development,” he added.

Negotiations for the PH-EU trade and investment agreement started on Dec. 22, 2015, followed by the second negotiations, which took place in February 2017.

The negotiations have since been put on hold until July 2023 while the EU and the Philippines announced their intention to begin technical discussions to potentially resume negotiations.