AMBASSADOR of Argentina to the Philippines Roberto Bosch said his country and the Philippines may further strengthen their relationship by engaging in a comprehensive agricultural cooperation.
Bosch said the two states have agreed to sign a general memorandum of understanding on cooperation where they could enter into all kinds of partnerships, including agriculture, with specific agreements yet to be undertaken.
“The Secretary of Agriculture [Emmanuel F. Piñol] was in Argentina last year and he got some very good ideas of what he can do in our bilateral cooperation,” he revealed.
The envoy believes that with the Philippine Agriculture Secretary’s upcoming visit to Buenos Aires by end of this year, areas of cooperation in agriculture will be fully explored.
“[Both him] and Secretary of Trade [Ramon M. Lopez] will be going to Buenos Aires, so it’s another opportunity for them to have some bilateral meetings, to meet with some companies, and to see how we can continue working,” he shared, noting the two officials’ participation in the World Trade Organization’s 11th Ministerial Conference to be chaired by Minister Susana Malcorra of Argentina in December.
Bosch disclosed, “What we’re trying to do in terms of cooperation is to offer the Philippines our expertise in agriculture. As we are mostly an agriculture-exporting and producing country, we can develop a lot of technologies.”
The Argentinian diplomat pointed out that they are in a position to institute a technological transfer to the country, more so in the sectors of organic farming and trade production.
He pointed out that trade and bilateral ties of the two countries have yet to flourish due to their distance between each other, but the economies are certainly “complementary.”
The ambassador went on: “[Argentina] produces and exports a lot of food and the Philippines imports a lot of [them. Conversely, your country] also produces and exports a lot of intermediate manufacturing goods that we import. I think that trade should be stronger than it is.”
Bosch added export from Argentina for 2017 is “a little bit lower” than last year due to its economic and productive situation; however, exports of the Philippines to Argentina is continuously growing.
“They have grown, even in a small percentage…in the last five to six years. I think it will continue growing because Argentina’s industry is starting to recover. There will be more opportunities for trade between the two countries,” he explained.
The envoy did not cite specific figures, but noted that trade between the two states varies between $400 million to $700 million, depending on the year.
“For this year, it would be around $600 million,” he disclosed.
Bosch bared that relations between Argentina and the Philippines is “good, but not very strong,” given the distance and their peoples’ lack of knowledge about the other country.
To address the latter, Bosch said the idea of a book fair was to basically create knowledge on the two nations’ societies.
“We both [had a] Spanish colonial past and…similar historical experiences. We both suffered from dictatorships, and we worked a lot to regain democracy, so we have strong, shared values,” he added.
He underscored that both countries are in the same page in working toward being “democratic and peaceful” states.
“From there, we can build a good relationship,” he concluded.
Image credits: Embassy of Argentina