CZECH Prime Minister Petr Fiala yesterday said his country looks forward to stronger ties and more areas of collaboration between his country and the Philippines, as the two nations committed to the strengthening of cooperations on defense, trade and investment, university-to-university linkages, and labor, among others.
The Prime Minister, who arrived on Sunday night, was officially welcomed by President Marcos Jr. in simple ceremonies in Malacañang yesterday.
The arrival rite was followed by an expanded bilateral meeting between the two leaders and their Cabinet officials.
Fiala is the first European head of state to visit the country under Marcos’ presidency. The Philippines is the first stop of Fiala’s 10-day tour in Asia, which also includes trips to Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan to strengthen Czech’s trade ties in the region.
The President said he and the Prime Minister talked of a wide array of issues from current areas of cooperation between the two countries, to their affirmation of their commitment to democracy, human rights, and the rule of law, to current international issues such as the Russia-Ukraine war, and the West Philippine Sea issues.
Fiala also said the plight of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and the satisfaction of Czech firms with their services, to “possibilities to expand migration for work” was also discussed during his meeting with Marcos.
There were likewise discussions on possible cooperation between Philippine and Czech companies; and the use of Czech technologies that can boost the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ modernization, the Philippines’ aircraft and aviation sector, and agriculture sector.
“We talked about areas where our countries should cooperate more. I have a delegation of Czech businessmen with me here in the Philippines. We hope that our visit will be a new start for successful cooperation between our companies. Our companies offer solutions in many fields, many areas, agriculture, aviation, transportation, or space technologies. Defense and security cooperation is very important in our relations,” Fiala said.
He added: “I believe our meeting and visit will be a new impulse for stronger collaboration and we will be very happy to cooperate with the Philippine government and companies much more.”
“Our company ÄŒeská zbrojovka offers extensive modernization to the Philippine Armed Forces. This project also includes transfer of technology. I am glad that we are cooperating into (the) area of agriculture (because) Czech companies (can) provide technological assistance and expertise to the Philippine National Dairy Authority. Czech companies can also offer technologies for storing raw milk and its processing,” he likewise said.
The President said Fiala’s official visit marks an important milestone in the 50 years of diplomatic ties between the Czech Republic and the Philippines.
“I express our commitment to strengthening the bilateral relationship between our two countries. We recognize the importance of building on the existing areas of cooperation and exploring new opportunities for collaboration. I also emphasized the Philippines’ strategic location in Southeast Asia and its potential as a gateway to the region, to ASEAN, to the Asia-Pacific,” Marcos said.
He said he also highlighted the Philippines’ recent positive developments such as the Philippine economy and its high growth rate and strong economic outlook.
“I look forward to the continued strengthening of the bilateral relationship between the Philippines and the Czech Republic in the years to come,” the President said.
Marcos and Fiala met in December 2022 in Brussels at the sidelines of the commemorative summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the European Union (EU) where they discussed cooperation in the security sector in the context of the AFP modernization program.
Czech Republic is the Philippines’ 8th largest trading partner among European Union member countries, with bilateral trade amounting to $450 million in 2019, according to data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
