04 November 2013 - Dr. Lilia B. De Lima, Director General (DG) of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) and Undersecretary of the Department of Trade and Industry, delivered a presentation on October 18 entitled, “The Philippines: Your Business Partner in Asia, Opportunities for Czech Investors in Philippine Economic Zones” at a seminar at the Metropolitan University in Prague, Czech Republic (MUP). Aptly and descriptively entitled “Czech-Philippine Relations at 40: Unique History, Promising Future,” the seminar was a joint project of the Philippine Embassy in Prague and the MUP in culmination of the 40th Anniversary of the Establishment of Philippine-Czech Diplomatic Relations.
DG De Lima was in Prague for the last leg of the PEZA European Investment Roadshow which covered seven cities, including Oslo, Stockholm, Copenhagen, London, Warsaw, and Budapest.
Speaking before an audience of businessmen, members of the Chamber of Commerce, government representatives, members of the diplomatic corps, members of the Filipino community, members of the academe, and university students, DG De Lima promoted the Philippines as the best business partner in ASEAN with its advantages of the ready human resources and high-skilled Filipino workers, business incentives, overall good governance, and the country’s wealth of natural resources, including its tourist attractions.
In his remarks during the seminar, the Embassy’s Charge d’affaires, a.i. (CDA), Dr. Juan E. Dayang, Jr., described the future economic relations between the Philippines and Czech Republic as promising. He added that “although bilateral trade relations has doubled from US$151 million in 2008 to US$300 million in 2011, the trade statistics do not reflect the potential growth of bilateral trade and investments especially when the two economies show economic resilience and good growth prospects despite the slowing of the global economy.”
After the seminar, DG De Lima, who has visited Prague on a similar investment road-show two years ago, also met with members of the Philippine-Czech Business Council in a business roundtable organized by Philippine Honorary Consul General in Brno Ing. Břetislav Skácel, in coordination with the Philippine Embassy in Prague. END
