Manila asks Prague for support to resume PH-EU free trade talks

Prague—President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday asked the Czech Republic for its support for the resumption of the Philippines-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations.

“We believe that the resumption of these negotiations will be a bigstep 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,” Mr. Marcos said during the Czech-Philippine Business Forum.

Negotiations for the PH-EU trade deal began in December 2015, but the European Commission suspended negotiations due to concerns over human rights abuses in the Philippines during former President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on illegal drugs.

European Commission Ursula von Der Leyen expressed the EU’s intention to relaunch FTA talks under the Marcos administration during her visit in Manila in 2023.

“A free trade agreement has huge potential for both of us in terms of growth and jobs. Whether it is on the European continent or here in Southeast Asia, we have all learned the hard way the cost of economic dependencies. We need to diversify our supply lines and make them resilient. This is the lesson we have learned, and that is what we call de-risking our trade relations” Von Der Leyen said.

As this developed, Czech Agriculture Minister Marek Výborný is set tovisit the Philippines next week to strengthen cooperation on food security efforts.

During a joint press conference with Mr. Marcos, Czech President Petr Pavel disclosed plans to send a delegation of prominent businessmen,expressing keen interest in exploring investment opportunities within the agricultural sector and other key industries.

“Very soon our Minister of Agriculture shall visit the Philippines with a numerous delegation of our businessmen with specific, particular plans to offer,” Pavel said.

“We also have companies that are involved in defense industry,manufacturing, in farming and agriculture, science, technology, energy sector, power sector, many of these businesses do have a particularspecific plan for the future cooperation with the Philippines,” he added.

Výborný is scheduled to hold discussions with Agriculture SecretaryFrancisco Tiu Laurel and spearhead a business forum in Makati on March 21.

The delegation’s itinerary also includes a visit to Davao for a business forum and an immersive farm visit at the Tagum Agricultural Development Company, Inc. (Tadeco) on the subsequent day.

President Marcos said he also anticipates the 2nd meeting of the Philippines-Czech Republic Joint Committee on Economic Cooperation (JCEC) in Manila later this year.

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