Ambassador Denis Yap Lepatan opened the Philippine Business Roundtable Discussion on Tuesday, 22 January 2019 in Zürich.
In his remarks, Amb. Lepatan noted that Philippines- Swiss relations goes back a long time to the Spanish colonial period of the Philippines. Since then, the bilateral relations have expanded considerably to include the: 1) Philippine-EFTA Free Trade Agreement ratified in March 2018 that covers trades in goods and services, investments, intellectual property, government procurement, competition and trade and sustainable development; and 2) the Air Services Agreement signed in April 2018 that opens up opportunities for greater connectivity for the Philippines and Switzerland to further expand their trade and investment, and enhance people-to-people relations as well.
Amb. Lepatan also underscored that the opportunities offered by the two agreements are anchored on a stably and rapidly growing Philippine economy, which registered a 6.2% GDP growth in 2018, bold policy reforms to ensure long-term sustainable Philippine economic growth, and the ambitious infrastructure project “Build Build Build” of the Philippine Government under President Rodrigo Roa Duterte.
Trade and Industry Assistant Secretary Angelo Taningco, in his remarks, emphasized the following aspects of the Philippine economy, including: 1) its demographic advantage with the Philippines having a median age of about 24 years old; 2) the Philippines as the 2nd fastest growing economy in ASEAN in the first three (3) quarters of 2018; 3) a very robust economy with an average growth rate of 6.2% from 2010-2015; 4) its strong domestic demand, industry, and services sectors; 5) the rise in Philippines’ per capital GDP; and 6) the steady flow of remittance from Overseas Filipinos.
Ambassador Denis Yap Lepatan (left), DTI Assistant Secretary Angelo Taningco, SACC President and PH Consul, a.h., Dr. Urs Lustenberger
and Philippine Permanent Representative to the WTO, Amb. Manuel Teehankee during the RTD.
Amb. Lepatan, Dr. Lustenberger, Asst. Secretary Taningco, and Amb. Teehankee pose for a souvenir photo prior to the start of the RTD.
