Philippine-France trade increased by 51% last year: French ambassador
Bilateral trade between France and the Philippines went up by 51 percent in 2021, French Ambassador Michele Boccoz said in her celebratory speech on French National Day Thursday night.
“Our relation with the Philippines is at the heart of our Indo-Pacific strategy. Our two countries share a strong will to maintain the prevalence of the rule of law, and UN Convention on the Law of the Sea in particular. Our cooperation deepened in areas of defense and security through the increase in frequency of our military deployment, joint drills…and the modernization of maritime capabilities,” she said.
“But now is also the time to embrace new opportunities, the time to increase our exchanges and take our relationship to the next level. In 2021, our bilateral trade went up 51 percent. With 121 businesses registered in the Philippines and more than 62,000 local jobs generated, these are good news that show the resilience of entrepreneurs,” she added.
In her speech, Boccoz urged Filipinos to visit France and build projects with them, noting that their country remained the most attractive tourist destination for foreign investors the third time in a row.
“I hope you will enjoy the many events lined up at the end of the year, as we look now towards the 75 years of friendship between our two countries,” Boccoz said.
Assistant Foreign Affairs Secretary for Europe Jaime Victor Ledda said the friendship between the two nations bore many fruits, including the presence of French businesses in the Philippines and strong maritime cooperation.
“Our relations have made it possible for high-level visits to take place and deepen our country’s cooperation, in among others, defense, trade, agriculture, science, higher education, tourism, and culture,” Ledda said.
In his speech, Ledda said that the cooperation between the Philippines and France could be strengthened by the Indo-Pacific strategy launched by French President Emmanuel Macron in February.
“As we turn another page in the history of the French Republic and the French-Philippine diplomatic relations, there will be more areas in which our nations could further collaborate,” he said.
''It is worth anticipating what our partnership will result in, especially as our countries now are starting with administrations, with the newly-elected President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. of the Philippines and the recently re-elected President Emmanuel Macron and recently appointed Prime Minister Elizabeth Borne of France,” he said.
On June 26, the two countries marked the 75th anniversary of Philippine-French diplomatic relations at the Pinto Art Museum in Antipolo. Jaspearl Tan/DMS
