AS the Philippines’s main export and investment-promotion agency, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has organized the country’s participation in the first China International Import Expo (CIIE) from November 5 to 10 at the National Exhibition and Convention Center in Shanghai, China.
This is in line with the DTI’s aim to further penetrate the huge Chinese market through country participation in trade expositions and facilitation of its business-to-business linkages.
Dubbed as China’s largest expo, more than 100 countries are anticipated to join the CIIE, while over 100,000 professional Chinese buyers have registered to attend the event. The weeklong expo will also include side activities, such as business-matching meetings, as well as trade and investment forums.
Philippine Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez will lead the country’s CIIE participation, along with DTI Trade and Investments Promotions Group Undersecretary Nora K. Terrado.
“China is a priority market for the Philippines, and we want to push for the export of our products and services. We are also keen on attracting Chinese investments,” Lopez said.
Under the theme “Partner Philippines: Building Value Together,” the Philippine National Pavilion will showcase the country’s initiatives in the areas of trade, investment and tourism at the CIIE.
The pavilion will highlight traditional Filipino performances and a video installation depicting the milestones of Philippine-China relations, which dates back to the 16th century.
Lopez and Terrado will represent the country at the Hongqiao International Forum and at the official opening ceremony of CIIE, which will be presided by Chinese President Xi Jinping on November 5.
“Our Philippine Trade and Investment Centers in Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai will be arranging business meetings for our major Chinese buyers and our Filipino exhibitors during the CIIE,” Terrado said. “We will gauge our success by the number of new business connections we will be able to establish during this CIIE participation.”
As part of the country’s goal to cater to the diverse Chinese consumer market, a total of 36 Filipino exhibitors are set to feature top-notch products and services from the Philippines.
Out of the 36 exhibitors, 28 will promote food products including snacks, alcoholic beverages coconut, mango, nuts, chocolates and coffee at the Food and Agricultural Products Halls 7.2 and 8.2.
China currently serves as a top export-market destination for the Philippines, with $940 million or 15.3 percent of the latter’s total exports in August, according to the latest trade data by the Philippine Statistics Authority.
This recorded a 34.4-percent increase from the export value of $699.5 million in the same month last year.
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Appeal to President Duterte to Participate at Expo 2020
Dear Mr. President Rodrigo Roa Duterte,
We the Filipinos in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) had just celebrated over the weekend our host country’s 47th National Day. There were many festivities held across the seven emirates which provided our kababayans a respite from their weekly work schedule. We are more than 700,000 strong and the 4th largest ethnic group after the Indians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis. The UAE population is around 9.5 million with nationals or Emiratis comprising about 20% and the rest are from almost 200 countries.
One of the major highlights of the recent national day celebration was the full promotion of Expo 2020, a global event that will be held in Dubai commencing on October 20, 2020 and closing on April 10, 2021. This first World Expo to be held in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia region is expected to attract 25 million visitors, 70 percent of which will come from outside the UAE. The event is being promoted as a platform to foster creativity, innovation, and collaboration globally with the theme ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’.
We are looking forward to your approval and subsequent budgetary allocation of our country’s participation via the construction and operation of a Philippine Pavilion. On the last week of November, a team from the Department of Trade and Industry specifically from the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM) attended the 3rd International Participants’ Meeting of Expo 2020. The two-day event gathered 626 delegates from countries from around the world to learn about progress made on the Expo and future actions. In addition, heads of three registered organizations representing the Filipino community have written a letter addressed to you appealing to host the Philippine Pavilion.
We hope to hear the good news before the end of the year that we will have our very own pavilion. Why are we excited?
1. Our participation will provide us literally and figuratively a stage that will present our local products, our tourist destinations and our foreign investment offerings to the global community.
2. The UAE residents, both nationals and expats, will appreciate us more as professionals, service personnel and skilled workers who are spread in almost all sectors and specializations.
3. Lesser known yet equally talented fashion designers, creative artists and architects will get an opportunity to showcase their crafts.
Personally, I have been advocating Filipino Excellence in the Middle East or FEME since September 2008 when I conducted a PR seminar for Filipino entrepreneurs, professionals and community leaders. I challenged the participants at that time to widely and systematically publicize and promote their enterprises, events and even causes in the UAE mainstream media. I told them that by doing so our reputation as an enterprising, professionally-oriented, highly qualified and socially aware ethnic group will be considerably recognized and appreciated in the global cosmopolitan city of Dubai in particular and in the UAE in general.
Now with the widespread use of social media the physical presence of a Philippine Pavilion will definitely promote our country not only to the visitors and tourists at Expo 2020 but also to the entire world where images of beautiful creations such as furniture items and fashion apparels as well as amazing tourist spots will go viral.
I was asked by a major UAE English newspaper a few months ago how I rate your administration in the past two years and I gave 7 out of 10. My reasons were:
The Build, Build, Build program will benefit our countrymen and the next administrations as new airports, railway networks, bus rapid transits, roads and bridges, and seaports are being planned that would help bring down the costs of production, improve rural incomes, encourage countryside investments, make the movement of goods and people more efficient, and create more jobs.
The forthcoming implementation of the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Law which mandates all government offices and agencies, including LGU and GOCCs, and other government establishments that provide business and non-business related transactions, to process transactions within 3 working days for simple transactions, 7 working days for complex transactions, and 20 working days for highly-technical applications.
The proposal to shift the government system from Unitary to Federal form. This would give more powers to the local government units which can be managed as profit centers similar to a corporate business structure – the more innovative and resourceful, the more profitable and progressive a city or province will be.
The Philippines can become a progressive country again if the needed economic fundamentals are really put into place. Our participation at the Expo 2020 will enhance your Build, Build, Build program for sure when visitors to the pavilion will learn more of the program’s goal which will not only upgrade the country’s infrastructure but also provide interconnectivity between people and communities, create more jobs, and strengthen the investment climate leading to sustained inclusive growth. A economically strong Philippines can also be a magnet for us, overseas Filipinos, to be reintegrated back into Philippine society.
Again on our participation at Expo 2020, we will be united as a community here in the UAE where we will really be proud of our country and our potentials on the world stage where we can compete with the best with the guidance of our Ambassador Hjayceelyn Aurora Quintana and officials of the Philippine Embassy in Abu Dhabi and Philippine Consulate General in Dubai and Northern Emirates.
Thank you very much and advance Merry Christmas.
Respectfully yours,
Art ‘Popoy’ Los Banos
17-year resident in Dubai
artlosbanos@gmail.com