30 May 2014 – In preparation for the Philippines’ discussion of services during its chairmanship of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum in 2015, the Philippines will be hosting next week the “National Workshop on Services: Advancing Philippines Services Sectors in the Asia-Pacific Region and the 21st Century Global Economy.”
Services trade has long been recognized by APEC member economies as an important driver of global economy. In the Philippines, the services sector expanded by 7.1 percent in 2013, contributing to the overall GDP growth of 7.2 percent. In 2013, services accounted for 57 percent of total GDP.
The Workshop also aims to serve as a substantive input to the development of a comprehensive and long-term strategy to promote and maximize the potential of the Philippines’ services sectors in the global economy, including through the revitalization of the Philippine Services Coalition (PSC). The PSC is composed of public and private stakeholders who will identify specific strategies consistent with the country’s long-term development priorities.
The outputs of the Workshop will ultimately serve as policy recommendations and inputs to the Philippines’ initiatives in both the domestic and international arenas.
The Workshop, which will be held from June 2 to 4 at the Asian Institute of Management in Makati, is co-hosted by the Department of Foreign Affairs’ Office of the Undersecretary for International Economic Relations – APEC National Secretariat and the Philippine Institute for Development Studies. The first National Workshop is co-organized in partnership with the International Trade Centre (ITC) in Geneva and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
The National Workshop on Services brings together local and international experts from multilateral institutions, think tanks, national agencies, business and other organizations such as the World Trade Organization (WTO), United Nations Centre for Trade and Development (UNCTAD), ITC, APEC, ASEAN and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), among others, to share their views and analysis on the latest developments and opportunities in the trade in services. END