SEN. Christopher Go yesterday said the Philippine Senate delegation in France met with French companies and private sector leaders to discuss opportunities and areas of economic cooperation, particularly in the energy and transportation sectors.
Go said that he and his colleagues led by Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri talked with French private sector leaders and discussed the potentials of investing in the Philippines and the possible collaboration between the two countries in key industries.
The other senators who are on the trip are Senate president pro tempore Loren Legarda, majority leader Joel Villanueva, deputy majority leader Joseph Victor Ejercito, and Senators Manuel Lapid, Grace Poe, and Nancy Binay.
“It is my hope that through these discussions, we will be able to identify potential areas in which the Philippines and France could collaborate for the benefit of both countries, particularly in the fields of energy, defense, and transportation,” Go said.
France continues to be one of the top 20 trading partners of the Philippines.
The Philippine senators also attended a meeting with the Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN) of France, an independent administrative authority which participates in regulating nuclear safety, radiation protection and the nuclear activities in France.
After the meetings, the Senate delegation was invited to a luncheon hosted by Sen. Mathieu Darnaud from the France-South East Asian Friendship Group.
During the first day of their official visit last October 25, Go said they met with representatives from the Economic Affairs Committee of the French National Assembly and the Atomic Energy Commission of France.
They also met with France’s Senate President Gérard Larcher and other members of the upper chamber.
Go, who chairs the Senate Committee on Health, said the visit also served as an opportunity to personally thank members of the French government for its multi-million COVID-19 vaccine donation to the Philippines through the COVAX Facility at the height of the pandemic, noting that the assistance provided a significant boost to the country’s national vaccination program.
The French government last year donated millions of doses of COVID-19 vaccines to the Philippines to aid in the country’s vaccination efforts.
