President Marcos arrived in Manila on Saturday, March 16, after back-to-back state visits to Germany and the Czech Republic, where he invited investments and reached multi-billion dollar business agreements in the country’s varied industries and sectors.

President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. delivers his speech at the Villamor Airbase in Pasay City upon his arrival on Saturday, March 16, 2024 from his working and state visits to Germany and Czech Republic, respectively. (Noel Pabalate | MANILA BULLETIN)

Philippine Airlines flight PR001 carrying the Chief Executive, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and the Philippine delegation landed at exactly 3:11 p.m. at the Villamor Airbase in Pasay City from his six-day visit to the two European states.

In his arrival speech, the President talked about meeting German businessmen and the $4 billion worth of business agreements that they reached.

“They are keen to expand their ventures to the Philippines and I am glad to announce that my German visit resulted in business agreements for projects with an aggregate value of $4 billion,” he said.

These agreements are focused in the sectors of renewable energy, manufacturing, health care, innovation and start-ups, Information Technology and Business Process Management (IT-BPM), minerals processing, agriculture, and aerospace, he added.

While in Berlin, he also discussed with aviation services provider Lufthansa Technik its planned P8-trillion expansion in the Philippines, including the construction of the second hangar at the Clark International Airport.

He also met with German multinational technology conglomerate Siemens, whom he thanked “for their unwavering support and confidence in Filipino talent and the company’s’ continuing commitment to support the capacity building of Filipino Technical Personnel in the field of healthcare.”

Marcos also shared about his invitation to German and Czech companies to invest in the Philippines, particularly in his administration’s clean energy and renewable energy initiatives.

“In Germany, I was able to meet with Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and discussed matters of significance to both our countries,” he said.

Among the topics he discussed with the German chancellor were upholding the rule of law and promoting rules-based international order, enhancing cooperation in the areas of peace and development, defense cooperation, maritime cooperation, trade and investment, including on critical raw materials and renewable energy, climate change, and labor.

“I emphasized the Philippines’ commitment to a clean energy future and invited German investments in green energy initiatives,” Marcos added.

As Scholz remarked on the critical role that overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Germany play in their society, the President said he “highlighted their contributions to the economy and to the society of Germany.”

In Czech Republic, he met with Czech Republic President Petr Pavel and Prime Minister Petr Fiala, as well as the heads of the Czech Parliament.

There, Marcos said that he also secured business agreements in the semiconductors and ITBPM sectors “that underscore a shared commitment to bilateral cooperation facilitating exchange programs and skill enhancement initiatives.”

The Chief Executive shared that discussions centered on how to strengthen the two countries’ bilateral cooperations in the areas of trade and investment, defense, agriculture, renewable energy, transport, and people-to-people exchanges.

“I underscored the Philippines’ remarkable economic performance and invited Czech businesses to invest in the areas of IT-BPM, electronics, manufacturing, food and agriculture, and automotive and electric vehicle manufacturing, amongst other things,” he added.

Meanwhile, Marcos also received support from the German and Czech Republic governments on the resumption of the Philippines-European Union Free Trade Agreement (PH-EU FTA) negotiations, which have been stalled since 2017.

He said that he asked DTI Secretary Fred Pascual “to make the necessary follow-up of the progress of the FTA discussions” at the EU headquarters in Brussels as the official was currently there.

This “valuable support” from the two countries came after the Philippines and EU announced their intention to begin technical discussions to potentially resume FTA negotiations last July 2023.

Several agreements were also signed during the Chief Executive’s two-country state visits, namely, the Joint Declaration of Intent on Strenthening Cooperation in the Maritime Sector between Philippines and German Transportation Agencies and the cooperation program between the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and the German Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training.

The Joint Communique on the Establishment of Labor Consultation Mechanism between Philippine and Czech labor agencies was also signed since the Czech Republic has expanded its quota for Filipino workers from 5,000 a year previously to 10,300 a year now.

“Overall, I am confident that these visits to Germany and the Czech Republic have strengthened our bonds with these two countries in Central Europe and created opportunities for cooperation and prosperity,” Marcos said.

The President and his delegation, composed of Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri and House Speaker Martin Romualdez, among others, were welcomed by Vice President Sara Duterte, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, and other Cabinet officials.