President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. (PPA POOL)
PRAGUE – President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R.Marcos Jr. on Thursday expressed confidence over the possibility of increased trade and investments between the Philippines and the Czech Republic especially in the information technology, electronics, food and agriculture, renewable energy, aerospace and other sectors.
After a tete-a-tete and bilateral meeting with Czech President Petr Pavel at the Prague Castle, Marcos said they explored opportunities for future partnerships between the two nations.
The President said he is eyeing future opportunities in trade and investment, agriculture, green economy and renewable energy, space and aerospace, education, tourism, defense, cybersecurity, and labor in the Czech Republic, a land-locked country in Central Europe where 7,000 Filipinos are residing.
He was “optimistic” that the Philippines can attract more Czech traders and investors to do business in the Philippines “as a result of increased engagement between our respective business sectors.”
He added that he and Pavel “discussed the large potential in increasing the bilateral trade between our countries.”
“I highlighted the Philippines’ remarkable economic performance, making it an attractive destination for Czech investments in the areas of information technology – business process management, electronics, manufacturing, food and agriculture, and automotive electric vehicle manufacturing, among others,” the President said in a joint press conference with Pavel.
Marcos said he is looking forward to the convening of the 2nd meeting of the Philippines-Czech Republic Joint Committee on Economic Cooperation in Manila later this year.
The President arrived at the Prague Castle and was welcomed by Pavel himself.
He was accorded arrival honors before he was ushered to his closed-door meeting with the Czech President.
He was accompanied by Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo, Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual, Presidential Communications Office Secretary Cheloy Garafil, Speaker Martin Romualdez and Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri.