The 11th Philippines-France Joint Economic Committee (JEC) Meeting has discussed cooperation in government flagship projects even beyond 2028 and where France has also continuing interest, particularly, public works and infrastructure development, aviation, railways, agriculture, and cybersecurity.
Trade and Industry Undersecretary Allan B. Gepty and Magali Cesana, 11th JEC co-chair and Head of Bilateral Affairs at the French Treasury, said this on Tuesday, Nov. 4, following their meeting in Manila.
“Those projects in the pipeline that we expect to be processed, deliberated, and hopefully approved as we move forward, even beyond 2028,” said Gepty.
While no specific projects were mentioned, Gepty said that aside from industrial ventures, the JEC discussions also covered potential investment opportunities related to public sector security documentation, film development, and human capital development.
“I can say that moving forward, our relations with France is better and promising and we can see a lot of good prospects as we move forward in our economic relations with them, especially as we embark on a deeper and permanent trade relations as we enforce the free trade agreements with the European Union,” he added.
For her part, Cesana expressed appreciation for the Philippine government’s commitment to improve the implementation of the government-to-government (G2G) agreement signed in June this year, which aims to reduce project delays and enhance overall execution efficiency.
She cited as the first project the contract awarded to French shipbuilding firm OCEA S.A. for a shipyard project in the Philippines, adding that more French investments are expected to be implemented soon.
The French official also welcomed the Philippine government’s commitment to establish robust safeguards and ensure full transparency and integrity in all project implementations, which she said are “very important for the French authorities and very important for French companies which are to invest in the Philippines” as well as for existing French firms already operating in the country.
While still without specifics, Cesana noted French companies’ keen interest in the railway sector, describing it as a “core issue in the Philippines” where France has strong expertise. She added that there is also growing interest in the maritime and energy sectors, among others.
