THE Philippines and the Czech Republic have established solid ties and friendships since the 18th century, which started with the unique bond between Dr. Jose Rizal and Prof. Ferdinand Blumentritt.
Today, these links are even bolstered by brisk economic, trade and commercial activities, thanks to the tireless efforts of the Embassy of the Czech Republic’s Trade Counselor Benjamin Ziga.
According to Ziga, his country’s embassy in Manila “continuously strives to improve, enhance and, most important, enrich our bilateral relations.” He noted that historically, the two countries have a deeper connection than one would think, although a huge, continental divide spans both.
The Czech Embassy official stated that in recent years, there was an observable intensity in economic and trade cooperation shared by the two countries, “with tangible results.”
Below is a recent exchange between the BusinessMirror and the affable gentleman from the Czech Republic:
ENVOYS&EXPATS: Please give a brief intro of the Czech Republic’s engagement with the Philippines in recent years.
ZIGA: On the government-to-government front, we see many positive steps within the range of bilateral agreements that have been signed in the past few years. Economic and defense cooperation pacts formalized in 2017 have already entered into force, creating an official engagement platform to discuss specific trade and defense-cooperation matters.
Both these documents provided structures for joint economic and defense committees that both took place in Prague this year. There were undersecretaries from the departments of trade and industry, as well as national defense who led delegations to the Czech Republic, and these manifest our mutual striving for deeper relations.
Currently, a few more agreements and memoranda are being discussed with respective departments. These are the very documents and processes that help propel our relationship toward new horizons on the economic, social and political level.
In the past three years, we also witnessed the entry of significant products from the Czech Republic, such as lager-type beer brands from southwestern Bohemia that are available around the islands, or even tractors that are currently being promoted to farmers around the Philippines.
There are activities furthering development cooperation that are very important to us. We have witnessed many successful projects that utilized the instruments available from the Czech government. For example, there were visits from our experts on diary development and implementation, installations of water-treatment plants, and humanitarian aid allocated for resilient housing around the Philippines.
The recent years have also seen the largest increase of Filipinos traveling to the Czech Republic not only as tourists, but also for employment. As a response, our government was able to open our labor market to more than 1,000 Filipinos yearly through programs aimed at increasing the employment of Filipino nationals.
We still remain strong also on the cultural front, with movie screenings and book translations that bring closer our cultural commonalities.
We noticed that the embassy is putting more focus on trade and business during Ambassador Jana Šedivá’s current post, in contrast to her predecessor Jaroslav Olsa’s term, where there were more efforts in cultural exchanges seen. Is this observation accurate?
I think that observation really depends on the [observer]. As an economic and trade counselor, my agenda is mainly to focus on the business side of our involvement. However, our culture-sharing efforts are still going strong.
Besides our literary efforts, there are also Czech movies being played in the Philippines. This year, we will fly in a music band from the Czech Republic.
At the same time, there is no doubt that modern economic diplomacy is playing a more important role in today’s bilateral engagements, and our Ministry of Foreign Affairs reflects that in a positive and adequate manner.
Our embassy has grown considerably in the past three years, so you can see that our efforts are being more spread out, and, perhaps, some of the trade and business projects are being more visible. Her Excellency Jana Šedivá is an experienced diplomat, who understands the importance of striking the balance and utilizing the combined effects of culture, business development, as well as consular aspects on our bilateral relations with the Philippines.
We fully understand that Filipinos are a very cultural people with strong business communities. As a matter of fact, I believe they will see more events and activities that will combine the cultural, as well as business relations together, which is part of our modern diplomacy.
The embassy recently organized an information, communications and technology (ICT/IT) forum with local industry stakeholders. Please share with us why the Czech Republic is concentrating its efforts in that area, and your thoughts on the response from the Philippine side.
The Czech Republic is considered as one of the countries in Europe that has a thriving IT sector due to its highly developed infrastructure, advanced technologies and strong drive to improve the sector. Through the conference, we aimed to open doors for better cooperation with the Philippines, which also has a booming IT sector, and is expected to have a fast-paced growth, as well as development. This, as local and foreign investors enhance their businesses to create more technological innovations.
With the aim to bridge the link between the two countries, this conference brought five Czech companies that presented their products and services to the Philippine IT sector in response to the growing demand for innovation and connection.
The response of the local companies has been great. Many connections were made, and some even led to concrete projects. We are constantly being asked for details of the next edition of the Czech Connect. I’m rather confident that this conference will come back to Manila in greater size in 2020.
Aside from ICT, where are the areas of interest or focus in trade relations between our countries? How is the Joint Economic Committee progressing?
Allow me to start with some numbers. With the bilateral trade between the Czech Republic and the Philippines since 2015, it would be difficult to miss the steadily rising imports that cause the current negative trade balance between our nations. The imports from 2015 to 2019 increased by almost $195 million—a staggering 77-percent growth, which reached $444 million!
Unfortunately, the export numbers are fluctuating around $110 million. In 2018, the Philippines became the 52nd-largest partner of the Czech Republic in terms of overall trade turnover. In this regard, I’m pleased to report that your country is positioned higher than Indonesia. I’m happy to see that there is an increase of the typical products and services that are reaching the shores of Philippines.
It would be interesting to note that many top Manila hotels are decorated with Czech chandeliers and custom glass installations. Hydropower turbines are being delivered to large Filipino energy companies as a source of renewable energy. Major hospitals are using medical beds or incubators that were produced by Czech companies. Czech muesli biscuits are on the shelves of popular supermarkets. Of course, I’m always happy to see that our lager beers are being poured around the popular restaurants and bars.
In terms of services, Czech companies consult their counterparts in transportation, microfinance and aviation. We continue our activities in water-treatment technologies that have a huge potential especially for the distant communities.
The Joint Economic Committee (JEC) continues to identify more sectors, and we are looking forward to the next meeting in Manila.
Some Philippine government officials traveled recently to the Czech Republic. Please tell us about that engagement.
We can have a look at the recent travels based on the documents I mentioned above. In terms of the Agreement on Defense Cooperation, our journey from signing of the agreement in 2017 is already paved with many positive interactions. Czech companies had a robust presence at the 2018 Asian Defense, Security and Crisis Management Conference in Manila. Undersecretary Raymundo Elefante also visited the Czech Republic’s Future Forces Forum.
Of course, we have recently concluded the inaugural Joint Defense Committee in Prague, led by the Undersecretary for National Defense Cardozo M. Luna. In the summer of 2019, the largest city in the Czech Republic, Brno, hosted the famous International Defense Fair, or IDET, 2019, which was attended by a delegation from the Philippines.
In terms of the JEC, we were happy to host it in the Czech Republic. For the first time, delegates from our countries met in Prague to discuss strengthening cooperation in trade and other related areas, such as investments, agriculture, transportation and environment, among others. Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Vladimír Bärtl and Trade Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo headed the JEC that took place on March 29, in Prague.
Kindly describe how you started with your work with the embassy in the Philippines.
Observing the robust growth of the Philippine economy, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic decided to strengthen the economic and trade section of our embassy in Manila in 2016, with the aim of providing better assistance to companies and investors. Bringing in additional personnel would help to conduct development and economic projects.
Between 2014 and 2016, I served as an economic and development diplomat at the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Kabul, Afghanistan. As my tour of duty was ending in this challenging yet very interesting post, I was offered to join the team in Manila and took on the newly created position.
To be honest, it was rather an easy decision, as I viewed the Philippines as a natural step in my early career. I wanted to stay in Asia and continue to strengthen the relations of the Czech Republic beyond the traditional markets, such as the European Union.
After three years in the Philippines, I do not regret this decision for a second. I met great people, learned about the region and, of course, experienced its beautiful nature. All these are worth the challenges.
Tell us about your stay in the Philippines so far. What have you grown fond of during your stint here?
I think many diplomats or expats here will agree with me that the amount of positive energy is unbelievable. It is from the everyday walk when you are greeted by the wide smiles of the doormen, to our engagements with businessman that are eager to know how we can cooperate.
I have been privileged to be in Manila for more than three years and, in that time, I have made many friends and grew very close to the Filipino culture that is actually not that distinct from ours. We do love being outdoors, eat rather heavy food and, of course, socialize over a well-chilled beer.
On the other hand, I get to enjoy activities that are not available in the Czech Republic. Ours is a landlocked country, so being surrounded by seas is something I always appreciate when I have a chance to get out of Manila. As a diver, I cannot say enough about the underworld of the Philippines that is truly unbelievable. I do hope to come back here, no matter if it will be on official or unofficial capacity.
Speaking of beer, which tastes better: the one from the Philippines, or that of Czechia?
I never hesitate to have some good Philippine lager. However, Czech beer is really the best in the world!
Image credits: Jimbo Albano