Berne PE Highlights PH Economic Developments, STEM Initiatives in Forum

Ambassador Lepatan shares, with SACC members and their invited guests, positive developments on the Philippine economy, including the government’s infrastructure flagship program, Build, Build, Build during the first part of the event. He also explains to SACC participants the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ financial inclusion advocacy, which includes the use of “e-money” or transactions via mobile phone, for all Filipinos especially those without bank accounts. (PE Berne Photos)

ZURICH 15 May 2018 – The positive developments in the Philippine economy and the government’s Build, Build, Build program were highlighted by the Philippine Embassy in Berne during a two-part forum organized by the Swiss-Asian Chamber of Commerce in Zürich on 08 May.

Recognizing the challenges presented by fast developments in science and technology, Ambassador Denis Yap Lepatan shared the reforms and initiatives undertaken by the Government to strengthen education in the field of science and technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) to enable the Philippines and its youth population to aptly prepare for it.

Financial inclusion in the overall economic development is important. Noting this, Ambassador Lepatan explained the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)’s program to use e-money and payments via mobile phone in the Philippines to provide Filipinos, especially those without bank accounts, effective access to a wide range of financial services.

Dr. Urs Lustenberger, President of SACC and the Philippine Honorary Consul in Zürich, facilitated the first part of the forum. Ambassadors from Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand Viet Nam, and Mongolia also took part in the discussions. Members of SACC, including its Board, attended the two-part forum. END

Ambassador Lepatan exchanges views with Dr. Urs Lustenberger (left photo), SACC President; and Indonesian Ambassador Prof. Muliaman Hadad (middle, right photo) and CEO/founder of bajak GmbH, Mr. Jesse Ng (right, right photo).

For more information, visit www.bernepe.dfa.gov.ph or https://www.facebook.com/PHinSwitzerland.