ON the basis of the 2017 Defense Cooperation Agreement, the Ministry of Defense (MOD) of the Czech Republic and the Department of National Defence (DND) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to establish a framework for future linkages in the defense sector.
Ambassador Jana Šedivá, on behalf of the Czech MOD, and Undersecretary for National Defense Cardozo Luna signed the MOU on October 12.
In her remarks, Šedivá noted that “there is a need to cooperate, and the MOU acts as a critical instrument for this. [The memorandum] commits our countries to work together and find solutions to a wide range of security issues. It also provides support for the exchange of expertise and technology between our countries for the betterment of our…respective defense industries and economies.”
Under the MOU, the Czech Republic and the Philippines will cooperate in various areas, such as sharing of technical knowledge in the defense sector and logistics, as well as providing assistance for procurement—including export of defense material and equipment.
It is expected that the MOU, together with the 2017 Defense Cooperation Agreement, will largely contribute to the improvement of mutual relations between the two countries in their defense sectors.
Relatively, the Czech Republic has repeatedly expressed its strong interest in providing aid to the Philippines as a defense-technology exporter for the ongoing modernization program of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
In response, the DND has guaranteed its openness to cooperate with the European country and its embassy in Manila on the development of its defense capabilities. This was also mentioned by Luna in his remarks at the ceremony.