PART of the culmination of last year’s Joint Economic Commission (JEC), the Department of Trade and Industry-Bureau of International Trade Relations (DTI-BITR) Director Angelo Benedictos as well as the German Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) Deputy Director-General Dr. Andreas Nicolin discussed in mid-October the Philippine economic recovery—including future trade and investment activities where Germany can participate in.
“We are pleased to be involved in activities… [promoting business relations between our countries],” said German-Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GPCCI) Executive Director Christopher Zimmer. “Despite several uncertainties brought by the pandemic and imminent political changes for [Germany and the Philippines], we trust…the meeting has further encouraged both sides to continue key dialogues on trade agreements, as well as exchange important updates on economic reforms [helping foster prospective investment efforts].”
In the meeting, GPCCI Deputy Executive Director Charlotte Bandelow presented the position of the private sector and the interventions of the chamber in different economic reform measures, as well as provided inputs on various topics from the recent AHK World Business Outlook Surveys.
Germany is the top trading partner of the Philippines in the European Union, with a total trade volume of €5.3 billion in 2020, according to Außenhandel 2020, Statistisches Bundesamt.
The inaugural JEC meeting was held in September 2020 organized by DTI, BMWi, the Philippine Embassy in Berlin, the Asia-Pacific Committee of German Business, together with the German Asia-Pacific Business Association and GPCCI.