Russian companies have expressed interest in participating in the local business sector through investments or participation in JV projects particularly in the areas of transport infrastructure/construction, aerospace, iron & steel, automotive, power generation equipment, minerals processing, and agriculture as a delegation from the world’s largest nation composed of government and private officials recently visited the country for a roundtable discussion with their Philippine counterparts.
Aimed at further strengthening the economic ties between the two countries, the Philippines-Russia Roundtable Meeting was held on April 19, 2018 at the Board of Investments (BOI) Building in Makati City. Trade Undersecretary for Industry Development and Trade Policy Group and BOI Managing Head Ceferino S. Rodolfo led the Philippine government lineup supported by Trade Undersecretary for Competitiveness and Ease of Doing Business Group Rowel S. Barba, BOI Industry Development Services Executive Director Ma. Corazon Halili-Dichosa and BOI International Investments Promotion Service Director Angelica M. Cayas. Ministry of Economic Development Deputy Minister Alexey Gruzdev meanwhile led the 21-man Russian delegation and supported by Russian Ambassador to the Philippines Igor Anatolyevich Khovaev. The event was jointly organized by BOI-International Investments Promotion Service (BOI-IIPS) and the Philippine Trade and Investment Center in Moscow (PTIC-Moscow).
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| DTI Undersecretary Ceferino S. Rodolfo and Russian Ministry of Economic Development Deputy Minister Alexey Gruzdev with the rest of the participants in the Philippines-Russia Roundtable Meeting. |
The roundtable meeting was a side activity of the Philippines-Russia Joint Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation (JCTEC) Co-Chairs Meeting which was held in the afternoon of the same day with Undersecretary Rodolfo and Deputy Minister Gruzdev as co-chairs.
“Your visit today shows the commitment of both sides in pursing closer business relations that would hopefully increase bilateral trade and investments. There are number of trade and investment opportunities that the Philippines can offer to Russia, and be assured that we will be here to guide and assist you, starting from your due diligence visits until your business is operational”, said Trade Undersecretary Barba during his welcome remarks at the roundtable meeting.
Undersecretary Barba said the Philippines and Russia have already started boosting and revitalizing its economic journey. “The visit of our President Rodrigo Roa Duterte in May 2017 resulted to an increase in number of incoming Russian business delegations to the Philippines and visits of government officials to Russia,” he said.
For his part, Deputy Minister Gruzdev provided an overview of the current situation of the Russian economy and identified the areas of economic cooperation that the two countries can explore on such as agriculture, aerospace, and power sectors. “I hope this meeting showed our sincere desire to be more than just friends and develop a mutually beneficial economic cooperation with the Philippines,” said Deputy Minister Gruzdev.
Undersecretary Rodolfo meanwhile presented the country’s trade and investment opportunities for strategic partnerships with Russia, particularly in manufacturing including aerospace, iron and steel, and automotive, construction services, natural gas and mineral mining and processing sectors. “We would like to encourage you to consider the investment side and benefits in making the Philippines as your production hub and gateway to the ASEAN and Asia markets, and to complement your existing foothold in Europe,” he said.
In support of Undersecretary Rodolfo’s presentation, Executive Director Dichosa also highlighted the general opportunities for manufacturing, and the sectoral propositions for automotive, iron and steel and aerospace industry.
An open forum and business matching activity followed where the private sector participants were grouped according to their sectors of interest and initiated possible business partnerships and collaboration with Philippine company representatives and counterparts.
Data from the DTI-Bureau of Trade and Industrial Policy Research showed that Russia ranked as the 24th import supplier, 29th trading partner and 37th export market of the Philippines in 2017. There is also a recorded 23.12% increase in PH’s export to Russia from US$49.83 M in 2016 to US$61.35 M in 2017.♦
Date of release: 26 April 2018