The Philippines and the United Kingdom (UK) have endorsed several programs, including government-to-government and government-to-business activities, over an 18-month period aimed at advancing bilateral cooperation between the two countries.
These programs were discussed during the inaugural Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO) meeting hosted in London last week by the UK’s Minister for Trade Policy and Economic Security, Douglas Alexander. He was joined by Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Undersecretary Allan Gepty.
In a joint statement published on the DTI’s website, the JETCO meeting was described as a clear affirmation from both countries of their collective pursuit to enhance bilateral economic relationship.
Based on data from the UK Department of Business and Trade, the Philippines was its 60th largest trading partner by the end of the third quarter of 2024. This accounted for 0.2 percent of total UK trade.
Total trade in goods and services between the two nations during the same period was £2.8 billion (around ₱207 billion).
“The new Philippines-UK JETCO adds extra emphasis to the UK’s deepening relationships across the wider Asia Pacific region,” the statement read.
The JETCO meeting acknowledged the potential for future economic growth and shared prosperity through deepening trade links, such as addressing barriers to market access.
Based on data provided by the DTI, the UK was the largest single investor in the Philippines, fueled by investments in renewable energy (RE).
The Philippines, meanwhile, was cited as having the capacity to boost UK trade—being one of the fastest-growing economies in Southeast Asia last year.
Both governments, represented by Alexander and Gepty, endorsed efforts to fully maximize the Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS), which offers Philippine exporters tariff-free access on 92 percent of products.
The two officials reached terms on strengthening the business landscape in the country, including collaboration on regulatory reform initiatives, facilitating business linkages, and capacity building on artificial intelligence (AI).
With this, the Philippines and the UK recognized the importance of growing the energy sector, particularly RE, given its contribution to a sustainable and green economic growth.
The two pledged to work closely in this sector for the coming year, with an emphasis on policy and regulatory engagement.
Meanwhile, in the infrastructure sector, a government-to-government financing framework partnership was discussed to support the key infrastructure projects in the Philippines.
This framework aims to expand access of the Philippines to a potential £5 billion of financing from UK Export Finance (UKEF) and other sources of cooperation.
“Both countries agreed to develop a project pipeline through the Infrastructure Sectoral Working Group in anticipation of the establishment of the framework,” the statement read.
Agriculture was also mentioned as a key sector for additional cooperation, especially on expanding market access for agri-food exporters.
The Agriculture Sectoral Working Group is expected to be established under JETCO, which will be tasked to drive trade and investment in both countries’ agriculture sectors.
During the said meeting, collaboration in animal disease detection and antimicrobial resistance as well as precision breeding and genetics were deemed to be among the priorities.
“Undersecretary Gepty and Minister Alexander emphasized the importance of delivering real impact from strengthened trade and economic discussions,” the statement noted.