Philippines Revitalizes Bilateral Relations with Costa Rica

The Department of Foreign Affairs officials led by Office of American Affairs Assistant Secretary Jose Victor Chan-Gonzaga (upper left) and Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Worship of Costa Rica officials led by Head for Bilateral Relations Rolando Madrigal (lower left) meet via virtual format to discuss opportunities to strengthen bilateral relations.

PASAY CITY 11 August 2023 — Department of Foreign Affairs officials led by American Affairs Assistant Secretary Jose Victor Chan-Gonzaga conducted a virtual meeting on 04 August 2023 with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship of Costa Rica Head for Bilateral Affairs Mr. Rolando Madrigal to explore ways to strengthen Philippine-Costa Rica Bilateral Relations.

The discussions centered on bilateral cooperation between the Philippines and Costa Rica which include trade, agriculture, energy, disaster risk reduction and management, sustainable tourism, volcanic and seismological research, cultural cooperation, and academic cooperation.

“We are pleased to strengthen bilateral relations with Costa Rica. Through our common interests and experiences, especially in handling environmental risks, it is crucial that the Philippines and Costa Rica work together in finding solutions on these areas, not only in protecting our countries in the short-term but also promote sustainability in the long-term”, Assistant Secretary Chan-Gonzaga emphasized.

Assistant Secretary Chan-Gonzaga highlighted opportunities of both countries to work together also at the multilateral level, being signatories to the Paris Climate Agreement (COP) and the shared interest in developing resilience in the face of climate change. Moreover, both representatives stated their interest in the expansion of trade and investments between the Philippines and Costa Rica. The Philippines welcomed the pronouncement of the Costa Rican side on their administration’s focus on trade with Asia and the Pacific.

The Department conveyed the proposal to host the inaugural Philippines-Costa Rica Bilateral Consultative Mechanism (BCM) Meeting in 2024 to exchange views and discuss avenues for cooperation.

“Certainly, we look forward to a fruitful partnership with Costa Rica. We hope this meeting will be a jumpstart to conduct technical discussions on specific areas, harness economic growth opportunities, and advance diplomatic relations in the coming years,” the Assistant Secretary added.

The virtual meeting was held in advance of the Department’s working visit to Costa Rica, Panama, and Mexico on 07 to 16 August 2023 to further discuss ways to revitalize relations with these countries.

In Costa Rica, DFA Assistant Secretary for International Economic Relations Paul Vincent L. Uy led the Philippine delegation that embarked on a Philippine Trade, Tourism and Investment Roadshow on 07-08 August 2023 to revitalize bilateral relations and explore trade and investment opportunities between the Philippines and Costa Rica.

The delegation met with Directors General Georgina Guillén-Grillo and Carolina Molina from Costa Rica’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship and explored possible bilateral cooperation in the areas of trade & investment, agriculture, environmental protection, renewable energy, disaster risk reduction & management, volcanology, space technology & observation, promotion of Filipino telenovelas in Costa Rica, academic cooperation between diplomatic institutes, and south-south cooperation. Also discussed was the possibility of convening the inaugural meeting of the Philippines-Costa Rica Bilateral Consultative Mechanism at a date mutually convenient to both countries.

The delegation also had an engaging discussion with Costa Rica’s Energy Vice Minister Ronny Rodriguez Chaves, concerning Costa Rica’s generation of almost all its electricity solely from various forms of renewable energy. Both parties agreed to pursue possible cooperation in information exchange and capacity-building towards the Philippines’ renewable energy development.

Trade between Costa Rica and the Philippines has been growing over the years, with total trade reaching US$50.88 million in 2022. In efforts to further improve trade relations between two countries, the delegation met with Deputy Minister for Foreign Trade Indiana Trejos. Assistant Secretary Uy invited the Vice Minister to consider the Philippines as a gateway for Costa Rica products to penetrate other markets.  He highlighted that now is the best time to invest in the Philippines in order to capitalize on the country’s growth potential, business-friendly investment policies, talented pool of human resource, and overall favorable business environment.

The delegation met with Supreme Distributors, the official seller of the Philippines’ Tanduay rum in Costa Rica since August 2022, in order to explore other possible Philippine products that they could introduce to the country. The team also met with one of Costa Rica’s largest companies, Sur Quimica, which is looking at the Philippines to source some of its raw materials.

The delegation also visited the University for Peace, which has been providing scholarships to Filipino students in the post-graduate level aside from having a long-standing partnership with Ateneo de Manila University, in order to discuss the possibility of having partnerships with other Philippine universities.

Assistant Secretary Uy cited the Philippines’ desire to bolster economic relations with non-traditional partners, including countries from central America. In response, Costa Rica’s Foreign Affairs Director General Guillén-Grillo said, “We have numerous similarities, and distance is only geographical. Your visit is a great starting point for reactivating our bilateral relations.” The working visit to Costa Rica is the first leg of the Department’s back-to-back roadshow in selected Latin American countries which will include Panama and Mexico. END

 Members of the Philippine delegation headed by DFA’s Assistant Secretary for International Economic Relations Paul Vincent L. Uy (sixth from the left) with officials of Costa Rica’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) Office of Foreign Policy led by Director General Georgina Guillén-Grillo (fifth from the left), MFA Office of International Cooperation led by Director General Carolina Molina (seventh from the left), Honorary Consul Pablo Enrique Guier Acosta (rightmost) and Honorary Vice Consul Miriam Miranda Rovira (second from right) pose after meetings to discuss potential areas of cooperation between the Philippines and Costa Rica.

The Philippine delegation led by International Economic Relations Assistant Secretary Paul Vincent L. Uy (fourth from left) posed with Deputy Minister Indiana Trejos of the Ministry of Foreign Trade to boost investment and trade between the Philippines and Costa Rica.