Secretary Cayetano, British Minister Field Look Forward To Deepening PH-UK Relations

Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter S. Cayetano receives visiting British Minister of State for Asia and the Pacific Mark Field during a courtesy call in Manila on Thursday. During their meeting, the two ministers agreed to further strengthen bilateral relations between Manila and London. (DFA Photos by MJ Roldan)

17 August 2018 – The Philippines wants to have stronger ties and more frequent exchanges with the United Kingdom, particularly in trade and investment, law enforcement, and education.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter S. Cayetano conveyed this during the courtesy call of visiting British Minister of State for Asia and the Pacific Mark Field on Thursday.

“Minister Field's visit is a big step towards strengthening relations between the Philippines and the United Kingdom,” Secretary Cayetano said in a statement issued after the meeting.

“In line with our policy of being 'a friend to all and an enemy to none', we look forward to further engagement with the UK on various fronts,” the Secretary said.

Secretary Cayetano said he and Minister Field discussed how Manila and London could further enhance their cooperation in such fields as education, law enforcement, climate change, illegal wildlife trade, and the campaign against illegal drugs.

The Secretary said he and Minister Field also discussed the deepening economic relations between the two countries and that he extended an invitation for British companies to participate in the Duterte Administration’s infrastructure program.

“We also invited the UK to participate in the ’Build, Build, Build’ program of the government and to further invest in the Philippines,” Secretary Cayetano said.

The Secretary said he was told by Minister Field that a number of British companies have actually expressed their interest to invest or expand their investments in the Philippines where more than 200 British businesses are already established.

The Secretary said he also took the opportunity to assure Minister Field that the Philippines believes in maintaining a rules-based system and in engaging international organizations more actively on issues that concern them.

“We both look forward to the convening of our 8th High Level Meeting in November where both our countries will engage in more detailed discussions to move bilateral relations forward,” Secretary Cayetano said.

Also present during the meeting were Ambassador to London Antonio Manuel Lagdameo and British Ambassador to Manila Daniel Pruce.

The United Kingdom is one of the largest European investors in the Philippines, with companies such as Standard Chartered Bank, Hong Kong Shanghai Banking Corporation, Astra-Zeneca, Pru-Life UK, Forum Energy and B/E Aerospace having a presence in the country.

In 2017, total trade between the two countries total US$987 million, with Philippine exports at US$480 million and imports from the UK at US$506 million.

The UK is also host to around 185,000 Filipinos, most of them in working in such sectors as information technology, engineering, aviation, hospitality and service, and healthcare. END

 (DFA Photos by MJ Roldan)