PH, Hungary eye more economic partnerships
Credit to Author: TYRONE JASPER C. PIAD| Date: Thu, 04 Apr 2019 16:16:58 +0000
The Philippines and Hungary have expressed mutual understanding to develop key sectors and boost trade and investment between them during their first Joint Commission on Economic Commission (JCEC) engagement.
In Budapest, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) pushed for the agency’s interest for more economic partnerships with members of the European Union.
From April 2 to 3, Trade Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo led the Philippine delegation to discuss trade matters with István Joó, Deputy State Secretary for Export Development of Hungary’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the DTI said.
“Consistent with Philippine DTI Secretary Ramon Lopez’s thrust for increased engagement with bilateral partners in the European Union, we are pleased to meet our government and business counterparts through this inaugural JCEC,” Rodolfo said in a statement Wednesday night.
Both Rodolfo and Joó welcomed the signing of the memorandum of intent between the Philippine Board of Investments and the Hungarian Investment Promotion Agency. The DTI said a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was also signed between the Philippine International Trading Corporation (PITC) and the Hungarian Export Promotion Agency. Another MoU on cooperation in the field of sports was signed between the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) and the Ministry of Human Capacities of Hungary, it added.
During the JCEC gatherings, the trade officials also tackled ways to set up partnerships on manufacturing, water treatment and management, agriculture and food industry, information and communication technologies (ICT), transport, education, culture, tourism and health.
Rodolfo said he is looking forward to an envigorated two-way trade between the Philippines and Hungary where “members of our respective private sectors [can] explore opportunities in each other’s markets and establish business to business partnerships.”
In response, Joó said, “Our relationship with the Philippines is driven by the desire to enhance our bilateral economic cooperation based on common interests and values. Hungary is dedicated to strengthening and improving the bilateral trade relations between our countries, and to promoting Hungarian investment opportunities.”
The Philippines has been granted the Generalized Scheme of Preference Plus (GSP+), which outlines the trade incentives of the countries exporting to the EU region. It has been enjoying zero-duty perks on over 6,000 products being exported to EU since 2014.
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