The Philippines and the Czech Republic reaffirmed to boost economic ties in various areas of collaboration, including healthcare, technology, and defense, during their second Joint Committee on Economic Cooperation (JCEC). Trade undersecretary Allan Gepty from the Czech Ministry of Industry and Trade director general Eduard Muřický attended the meeting.
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said both parties discussed strengthening cooperation in areas of agriculture, manufacturing, healthcare industry and medical devices, energy, environment, mining, transportation, information technology and business process management, aerospace and space technologies, defense, education, labor, and tourism.
“The Czech Republic is an important partner of the Philippines in Europe. We believe that the JCEC offers an opportunity for us to enhance not only our trade and investment relations but also achieve more concrete outcomes that would contribute to the sustainable development of our countries. The identified areas of cooperation reflect our mutual interests based on industrial strengths, technical expertise, and resource endowments,” Gepty said.
Filipino and Czech firms in electronics, manufacturing, water and waste management, renewable energy, and transportation also participated in the meeting.
Both sides shared updates on trade and economic developments, focusing on policies that could boost trade, investments, and economic cooperation.
They also discussed regional and global issues, emphasizing the crucial role of international trade in promoting economic growth and stability amid global challenges and uncertainties.
Both governments likewise agreed to enhance efforts to promote mutually beneficial trade, including targeted promotion, greater use of the European Union Generalized Scheme of Preferences Plus (EU GSP+), and timely negotiations for the PH-EU free trade agreement, among other initiatives.
According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, the two-way merchandise trade value of the two countries reached USD371.2 million last year, with Philippine exports to the European country at USD216.2 million and imports of USD155 million.
The country’s outbound shipments include semiconductor devices, digital monolithic integrated circuits, storage units, other prepared unrecorded media for sound recording or similar recording of other phenomena, and sports footwear.
On the other hand, imported products from the Czech Republic include airplanes, materials, accessories, and supplies for dice of any material, revolvers and pistols, electrical and electronic machinery, equipment and parts, chandeliers, and other lighting fittings.
Philippine Ambassador to the Czech Republic Eduardo Meñez and Czech Ambassador to the Philippines Karel Hejč, were also present at the JCEC.
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