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MANILA, Philippines -- The Philippines and Russia have signed a partnership agreement covering energy, mining, tourism, and construction and the deployment of skilled overseas Filipino workers to Russia.
The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, led by its chairman Miguel Varela and president Sammie Lim, and the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, led by Vitaly Vorobiev, signed the partnership agreement over the weekend.
?The Philippines intends to take advantage of Russia?s program to rebuild its economy. It has identified eight economic zones and four tourism estates and we are looking at the deployment of skilled workers similar to what we did in the Middle East in the 80?s,? Lim said at the signing ceremony held at the Sofitel hotel in Pasay City.
Robert De Venecia, head of the Philippines-Russia Business Council, said the agreement would pave the way for the deployment of more skilled workers in the economic zones in Russia. He said that some 2,000 skilled OFWs have been deployed in Azerbaijan alone, with the number expected to increase in the next few years.
The agreement, the 39th signed by PCCI with other foreign chambers of commerce, also seeks to open new Russian investment opportunities in the energy and mining sectors in the country.
Vorobiev said the Russian government was very much interested in engaging in the mining exploration projects in the Philippines.
?We had a meeting with the ministry of natural resources, in the course of our discussions, we discovered that there are many mining and mineral resource development projects in the Philippines where Russian geologists and scientists could be quite instrumental,? the Russian official said.
At the same time, Varela said the agreement sought to further enhance the cooperation of both countries in the petroleum industry given Russia?s influence and importance to the global oil industry.
?The Philippines as a major importer of petroleum definitely sees a great potential of looking at how our cooperation can mainstream greater avenues in managing the supply gaps in the local oil industry,? said the PCCI chairman.
The agreement also seeks to address the imbalance in the bilateral trade volume between the Philippines and Russia.
In 2006, Philippine exports to Russia of processed food, tropical fruits, coconut, and tobacco reached only $16 million, while Russia?s exports to the country of iron, steel, and other metals, construction materials, fertilizers, and chemicals reached $200 million.
?The Russian federation is indeed fast becoming a major market for Philippine tourism, information technology, and mineral development. Specific areas of interest related to these opportunities we offer [are] in travel, medical tourism, health and wellness, educational services, business process outsourcing, construction services, logistics, energy, and mining,? said Varela.
The signing was part of a series of activities by a delegation of Russian parliamentary and business officials, led by Sergey Mironov, chairman of the Council of the Federation of the Federal Assembly.
