The Commonwealth Secretariat in London is looking at the Philippines’s Special Economic Zones (SEZs) as basis for a case study for its Trade Competitiveness Section, according to the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza).
In a news statement issued on Thursday, Peza said the Trade Competitiveness Adviser of the Commonwealth Secretariat in London, Qazi Yawar Naeem, paid a visit to Peza.
“The Commonwealth Secretariat’s Trade Competitiveness Section [TCS] of the Trade, Oceans and Natural Resources Directorate [TONR], provides technical assistance to 56 member-countries of The Commonwealth to improve their trade competitiveness in global markets,” said Naeem.
The Trade Competitiveness Adviser added, “Interventions are targeted at the national level, and where requested, escalated to the regional and pan-Commonwealth levels.”
With this, Peza said, “they are currently studying how they can strengthen the ecozones of the Commonwealth member-states especially in the IT sector and e-commerce and they are looking for the success stories and best practices of SEZs [Special Economic Zones] that they can emulate.”
Naeem underscored that the Philippines is at the forefront of developing economic zones. In fact, he added, Peza’s name was specifically mentioned in the “previous investment reports as well as your success stories for developing ecozones and in attracting foreign direct investments in those ecozones.”
The 2019 World Investment report released by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) recognized the Philippines, along with China, India, and the United States, among others as the countries having the highest numbers of SEZs. The Philippines was second to China.
Peza said it is worth mentioning that the top Commonwealth member-countries’ Britain and Singapore are among the highest investors contributing to 6.88 percent and 3.97 percent of Peza’s total investments, respectively.
“It is both humbling and inspiring that Peza continues to be attributed as one of the success stories in ecozone development in the Asean region. We assure you that we will not rest our laurels but continue to improve our best practices and come up with innovative ways to enhance our ecozone competitiveness also amidst increased use of e-commerce,” Peza Officer in Charge and Deputy Director General for Policy and Planning Tereso O. Panga said.
The Peza OIC also noted that the Authority is eyeing to attract “high-tech industries and emerging technologies in the fields of industrial manufacturing transport, technology media and telecommunications, health and life sciences including mineral processing of green metals” as it aims to be aligned with the new strategic priorities of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
In a separate statement released on Thursday, Peza revealed that it has organized a three-day benchmarking activity in its ecozones for the delegates from the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
Peza said this is to guide the officials and staff from the autonomous region in their pursuit of establishing their own ecozones that can be registered under the Bangsamoro Economic Zone Authority (Beza).
“With BARMM’s increasing performance and growing economy among the regions, BARMM can take advantage of the ecozone program and attract the much-needed jobs, exports, local and national revenues, and other economic opportunities for the region,” said Promotions and Public Relations Group (PPRG) Manager Aleem Siddiqui Guiapal.
Guiapal emphasized that it is “high time” for the Bangsamoro people feel the economic benefits of its autonomy.