A Joint Economic Commission (JEC) between the Philippines and Sweden is pushing for sustainable practices in industries that move the country’s economic development such as mining, healthcare, and transportation.
In a statement, the Board of Investments (BOI) said its managing head Ceferino Rodolfo met recently with Håkan Jevrell, the state secretary to the Minister for International Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade of Sweden, where the latter expressed interest to collaborate in these fields as well as in digitalization and defense.
Jevrell said Sweden is advanced in terms of technology transfer, citing Ericsson, which has operations in the Philippines as a leader in innovator for connectivity.
Rodolfo said digitalization is important given the large population of the Philippines, especially on healthcare.
Jevrell said Sweden is well-positioned to support the Philippines in pushing for a more sustainable, efficient, and safer mining in the Philippines which aims to develop critical minerals and transition to green transportation.
Swedish companies can provide appropriate solutions with less impact on the environment,”
Jevrell said.
Jevrell also said Sweden is open to supporting the Philippines when it comes to energy with companies like ABB and Hitachi Energy having strong interest in working more with the Philippines in this area.
Both sides welcomed the resumption of the negotiations for a free trade agreement
between the Philippines and the European Union as this will lead to increased trade and is a welcome initiative especially for businesses.
