Phl, Japan strengthen industrial cooperation

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine and Japanese governments signed an Action Plan on Industrial Cooperation as part of their commitment to strengthen economic ties.

Trade undersecretary Adrian Cristobal Jr. and Japan Deputy director-general for Trade Policy Toshiyuki Sakamoto signed the Action Plan last Thursday at the Board of Investments.

The Action Plan is seen to enhance collaboration of the two countries in key areas such as automobile, manufacturing, micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), services, and human resource development.

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said the initiatives are geared towards identifying and addressing supply chain gaps between the Philippines and Japan by providing technical and institutional capacity building to domestic industry players.

“The Philippines and Japan have a long-standing partnership in fostering economic development in the country. Japan contributes to our efforts in sustaining our socio-economic growth as it continues to be a rich source of knowledge and experience in industry development and SME-centered policies and initiatives,” Cristobal said.

“These will help us in identifying gaps and designing measures that are in line with our Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Boracay Action Agenda to Globalize MSMEs,” he added.

The DTI said Japan continues to be a top investor in the country and has been actively involved in the agency’s participative policy making processes through various mechanisms such as formal and informal industry consultations, the industrial cooperation dialogue, and discussions under the Philippines-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement Sub-Committee on Improvement of the Business Environment.

Japan also contributes to the implementation of the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) Strategic Action Plan for SME Development which intends to mainstream SMEs into Asean trade.

In July last year, DTI Secretary Gregory Domingo and then Japan Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Toshimitsu Motegi signed a joint statement on industrial cooperation.

Japan then expressed its support to Philippine efforts in developing an industrial development roadmap and elevating the country into Asean’s manufacturing and human resources development hub.

“The government’s role is to pave the way towards industrial competitiveness by creating a business environment conducive for business to flourish,” Domingo said.

“Building on partnerships and fostering closer cooperation with other governments and the private sector will also be crucial in attaining this,” he added.

The signing of the Action Plan was preceded by the first stakeholder consultation which aims to identify specific programs that could be undertaken by the Philippine and Japanese governments to implement the program.

This was attended by representatives from the private sector, business support organizations, Japan External Trade Organization, and the Japan International Cooperation Agency. -Richmond S. Mercurio (The Philippine Star)