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TOKYO: Philippine President Gloria Arroyo on Thursday hailed “a
new era of economic relations” with Japan after a trade deal took
effect last year, and called for more Japanese investment in her
country.
The trade deal is officially called
Japan-Philippine Economic Partnership Agreement, or JPEPA.
President Arroyo, who arrived in Japan on
Wednesday for a working visit, was to meet with Prime Minister Taro
Aso later in the day to discuss economic ties, North Korea’s May
nuclear test and other issues, foreign ministry officials said.
“With the entering into force of the joint
paper, now we open a new era of economic relations,” the President
told Japanese business leaders, referring to the bilateral
free-trade deal that took effect in December 2008.
The agreement “needs adjustments for both
parties, but the net result of this agreement will benefit both of
our economies,” she said. “Let me say to the Japanese business
community: For growth, even through the global crisis, invest in the
Philippines. Trade with the Philippines.”
Mrs. Arroyo and Japan’s then-Prime Minister
Junichiro Koizumi agreed on the economic partnership agreement in
2006, Manila’s first bilateral free-trade deal.
The Philippine Senate did not ratify the deal
until October last year, as environmentalists warned it could make
the country a dumping ground for Japan’s toxic waste.
The pact removes all tariffs on about 94 percent
of bilateral trade by value and allows Philippine nurses and care
workers to work in Japan on a long-term basis. Remittances make up
about 10 percent of the Philippine economy.
Tokyo is the largest trading partner for Manila,
while Manila is the second largest destination for Japanese foreign
direct investment after the United States, according to the Japanese
foreign ministry.
‘Samurai’ bonds
A local media report in Japan also said the
Philippines was considering selling up to $1-billion worth of
yen-denominated bonds—so called samurai bonds—to help ease
budget difficulties.
The details were yet to be decided, but Manila
was considering issuing the bonds in two years, using a guarantee
program of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation for the
issuance, Kyodo News reported.
-- AFP
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