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SWISS
President Pascal Couchepin has invited President Arroyo
to visit his country next year in time for the opening
of the Muba, the biggest Swiss consumer trade fair in
February 2009, which will feature the Philippine at its
center stage.
Tourism
Secretary Joseph Ace Durano told reporters that
Couchepin, who is in Manila for a three-day state visit,
had extended the invitation to Mrs. Arroyo and that the
latter responded positively, though schedules would
still have to be “ironed out.”
“The
President is also planning to open our participation in
Muba next year.... Of course they’re still ironing out
the schedule but the Swiss President extended the
invitation,” Durano said in an interview at the Palace
Reception Hall after the bilateral meeting of Couchepin
and Mrs. Arroyo.
The
Philippines’ participation in Muba will bolster its
already “very strong” presence in Europe, which has
acted as a buffer against the economic slowdown in North
America, he added.
Muba—regarded
as Switzerland’s “largest and most prestigious consumer
trade fair”—features a “guest country” every year. In
2009, the Philippines will be given the privilege of
presenting its major exports in products and services
and tourism, among others, to more than 300,000 from
Switzerland and neighbors, such as France, Germany and
Italy.
In her
ceremonial toast at a state luncheon in honor of
Couchepin—the first Swiss President to visit the
country—Mrs. Arroyo expressed her gratitude “for the
recognition that would be given to our country in 2009,
when we will be the featured guest country in Muba,”
which is held for 10 days in Basel, Switzerland, or from
February 13 to 22, 2009.
“May
that gesture and this visit of your Excellency to the
Philippines transform our cordial relations into close
relations,” she said.
In a
joint statement issued after their bilateral meeting,
the two leaders acknowledged the need to boost two-way
trade, which has been tipped in Switzerland’s favor for
the last five years.
“With
regard to two-way trade hovering around $300 million,
with the trade balance clearly in favor of Switzerland,
the two Presidents shared the opinion that the private
sector could make better use of existing opportunities,”
the Palace statement said.
Switzerland
was the Philippines’ 28th trading partner in 2007,
accounting for 0.2 percent share of total Philippine
trade with the world of $105.59 billion.
In 2007,
Philippine exports to Switzerland amounted to only $37.8
million while imports totaled $253 million.
Top
Philippine exports to Switzerland in 2007 were
semiconductor devices, gold bullion, fresh or chilled
tuna fillet, petroleum products, and machinery and
equipment parts. Its major imports were dice of
materials for molding compounds, medicine, parts for the
manufacture of accessories, such as wristwatches,
tobacco and organic chemicals.
Durano
said Muba 2009 presents an opportunity for the
Philippines to narrow its trade gap with Switzerland by
showing Swiss businessmen the best of Philippine
exports, including its tourism products.
Durano
said 17,000 Swiss tourists visited the Philippines in
2007, and that arrivals have increased by 8 percent in
the first half of the year, which he is confident “can
be sustained and with our presence in Muba next year, we
will increase our presence in that market.”
The
joint statement also said that during the bilateral
meeting, Couchepin told Mrs. Arroyo that owing to the
“robust performance of the Philippine economy during the
past years” he “expects therefore a number of Swiss
companies expanding their business operations through
additional investments.”
Sixty
Swiss companies in the country employ a total of 10,000
people, and have combined investments of $2 billion.
At the
bilateral meeting, Mrs. Arroyo assured Couchepin that
her administration “attached great importance” to the
passage of the bill on the Compensation to Victims of
Human Rights Violations during the Marcos Regime, which
is on its third and final reading at the House of
Representatives.
Couchepin, in return, “assured President Arroyo of the
continuing support for Philippine authorities in
recovering Marcos assets in Switzerland and third
countries,” the joint statement said.
Couchepin also expressed full support for the Philippine
hosting and chairmanship of the Second Global Forum on
Migration and Development in October, and with Mrs.
Arroyo, “agreed that emigration can be a win-win
situation for the sending as well as the receiving
countries, but that a diligent and responsible
management of the process is required from both sides.”
On the
second day of his visit, Couchepin will have a working
breakfast with chief executive officers of Swiss
multinational companies and Trade Secretary Peter Favila,
Labor Secretary Marianito Roque, and Health Secretary
Francisco Duque III.
He will
also visit the Asian Development Bank, and the
International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in Los
Baños, Laguna, both recipients of Swiss government
funds. |
