MANILA and Moscow have signed a cooperation agreement to bolster ties between the two megacities, in a move seen to lead to partnership deals on trade ties, health care, environment, and investments, among others.
The cooperation agreement, signed by Manila Mayor Honey Lacuna and Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin, will also provide an opportunity to boost tourism in the two cities, according to Russian Federation Ambassador Marat Pavlov, who keynoted a business forum dubbed “Moscow-Manila: Modern Vectors of Bilateral Cooperation” held at the Diamond Hotel.
Aside from business ties, the two cities also vowed cooperation through cultural exchanges, with Moscow presenting its world-renowned Russian Folk Dance Ensemble “Gzhel” Monday night at the Aliw Theater.
Pavlov said the agreement will allow the Philippines to showcase its tourism program to Muscovites, who will appreciate the country’s thousand islands. Filipino tourists in turn will also be able to see the transformation in Moscow, which has been adjudged as the No. 1 city in the world as per the UN Habitat’s City Prosperity Index.
Moscow government minister Sergey Cheremin said the Russian city was ahead of Hong Kong, Paris, London and Madrid in the UN agency ranking as a result of the innovations that Mayor Sobyanin made to the city when he assumed office in 2018. The innovations included the establishment of more parks, business-friendly initiatives, and the use of electric buses.
Cheremin said that small and medium enterprises were encouraged, 40 IT parks were put up that earned $30 billion a year for the city, 200 kilometers in Metro subway lines were added with up with 100 stations, to allow for greater mobility for Muscovites, 85 percent of whom are now within walking distance of subway stations.
Other innovations introduced in Moscow, which is debt-free and contributes $330 billion in gross domestic product to Russia, are free Wi-fi for buses and other places and more playgrounds. As a result, the city has been cited as one of the cleanest metropolises in the world even as it attracts foreign direct investments to the tune of $250 million. This resulted in the country being insulated from the effects of sanctions imposed before.
According to the forum moderator Vladimir Platonov, president of the Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the development and maintenance of a productive dialogue between the Russian capital and its partners in Southeast Asia is becoming an even more important area of international activity for the Moscow government.
PHL digital tech
During the forum, Department of Information and Communications Technology Undersecretary Ms. Anne Mae Lamentillo shared the Philippines’ thrust in digital technology, a possible source of partnership deals between the businessmen of the two cities.
Lamentillo unveiled the country’s “digital agenda” that seeks to promote a government ecosystem that assures better governance, no red tape, and higher quality of service.
She said the DICT has already pilot-tested an end-to-end registration of business firms, payment of real estate tax and civil registry in 25 municipalities. Ultimately, the project involves all the 906 local government units in the country.
The digital agenda will “result in no more long lines” in the citizens’ dealings with the LGUs and includes also a digital citizens program and a “robust start-up ecosystem.”
The other areas of concern for DICT include fast-tracking the interconnectivity of unserved and underserved LGUs, as well as pushing for better internet service for more contact centers and business-process outsourcing firms locating in the country.
Lamentillo said DICT is also pushing support for more creative industries in the country in order to allow for more revenues for the government. “These high-value services,” Lamentillo said, include data analytics, health care, animation and enhanced ICT sector.
Other speakers in the forum were Uno Lim, chairman of the Committee on International Affairs of the City of Manila; Maurice Leroy, vice president of the Mosinzhproekt JSC for International Relations; Olga Pischikova, head of the Department of Transport and Road Infrastructure of Moscow and Vitaly Stepanov, head of the Moscow Export Center, who made his presentation online.