-
The Philippines and Canada will soon begin discussions on a possible free trade agreement, with the first round of talks set for the first semester of 2025
-
At the same time, the North American country will be exploring opportunities in the Luzon Economic Corridor as part of its efforts to strengthen ties with the Philippines
The Philippines and Canada will soon begin discussions on a possible free trade agreement (FTA), with the first round of talks set for the first semester of 2025.
At the same time, the North American country will be exploring opportunities in the Luzon Economic Corridor as part of its efforts to strengthen ties with the Philippines.
In a joint statement, Canadian and Philippine officials said the exploratory talks are the result of a meeting between Mary Ng, Canada’s minister of export promotion, international trade and economic development and Ma. Cristina Roque, Philippine trade secretary.
Ng told local media: “The reason it’s important is because business always look for predictability. Free trade agreements give us the rules of engagement and I’m very much looking forward to those negotiations.”
Luzon Economic Corridor
Regarding the Luzon Economic Corridor, Ng said local officials had talked to her about it, and she found the concept “terrific.”
“We are very interested and I’m looking forward to learning more about it.”
Ng led her country’s largest trade mission to the Philippines on Dec. 4 to 6 to explore trade and investment opportunities. It was composed of 300 participants from such industries as clean energy, agriculture, infrastructure, and digital innovations.
The proposed FTA may take a few years, according to Ng, who said it took three years to finalize a similar agreement between Indonesia and Canada.
Ng, however, said she hoped an FTA with the Philippines could be completed in a shorter period, given the previous work over the past years on the FTA between Canada and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
During the plenary session of the Canadian trade mission, Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs Frederick Go said the Luzon Economic Corridor is a major project being undertaken by the Philippines, the US, and Japan.
It was launched during the Trilateral Leaders’ Summit of the three nations held last April.
The corridor is the first of its kind in the Indo-Pacific region and is part of the Group of Seven’s Partnership for Global Infrastructure and investment initiative to promote investments in sustainable, inclusive, resilient, and quality infrastructure.
READ: Luzon Economic Corridor draws growing interest from investors
