The Philippines is eyeing economic cooperation with Germany in manufacturing and industrial services, energy, construction and infrastructure, information technology-business process management (IT-BPM), innovation and startups, vocational education and training, and labor.
At the 2nd Joint Economic Commission (JEC) meeting on March 27 in Manila, the Philippines and Germany also identified opportunities to expand bilateral cooperation, particularly in minerals processing and investment financing.
The JEC meeting, chaired by Trade Undersecretary for International Trade Allan Gepty and Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) Parliamentary State Secretary Stefan Wenzel where they highlighted these sectors as among those with biggest potential for cooperation.
At the meeting, German companies Lufthansa Technik Philippines, Continental and Bosch recognized the strong value proposition of the Philippines’ manufacturing and services sector and praised the high-skill level of Filipino workers, especially in IT-BPM, vocational education, and labor.
Also at the meeting, wpd AG acknowledged the support from the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Board of Investments for the companies’ solar and offshore wind projects.
The DOE invited the representatives to establish a manufacturing plant for parts and components of these projects in the country.
The Philippine Overseas Construction Board also pushed for projects that will advance the implementation of the Philippines Construction Industry Roadmap (2020-2030, promote Philippines construction and engineering services, and capacitate the country’s construction workforce.
In line with this, the Philippine Contractors Association and the BFW Construction Training Institute NRW signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) during the JEC meeting.
The MOU aims to promote the German Dual-Training System within the Philippines, bring German innovation in technology in the Philippines, and enable the exchange of best practices through study visits.
The Board of Investments and the Mines and Geosciences Bureau presented the value proposition for minerals processing in the Philippines and proposed cooperation projects such as technical assistance for establishing an iron-making facility.
Updates were also provided on the ongoing cooperation initiatives of the Department of the Department of Trade and Industry with Siemens on Industry 4.0-related activities and Start2 Group on strengthening the Philippine startup ecosystem.
Also highlighted was KfW IPEX-Bank Asia Ltd.’s possible participation for investment financing in Philippine major infrastructure projects .
Foreign direct investments from Germany to the Philippines rose to their highest in 18 years in 2005 to $149.89 million, the highest since 2005.
Over 70 representatives from government agencies and business sectors from both countries participated in the meeting.
