The Philippines expects an early harvest of $150 million investments this year from Israel in various industries including agribusiness, software development and information technology-business process management, according to Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez.At the Make it Happen in the Philippines investment forum on Wednesday in Tel Aviv, solid letters of intent were signed and presented by Israel investors and inquiries also on food and beverage, satellite images and water desalination and treatment, Lopez said.
Lopez also on Wednesday signed with Israel Economy and Industry Minister Orna Barbivay the memorandum of understanding on economic and technical cooperation which among others calls for the establishment of a Joint Economic Commission (JEC).
JEC is a platform to further improve economic relations that will serve as the platform to discuss the various fields of economic cooperation, from agriculture to trade, tourism, transport, energy, science and technology.
Barbivay expressed hope that more Israeli companies would invest in the Philippines which would result in economic gains for both countries.
In 2021, Israel ranked 35th among the Philippines’ trading partners, 35th among export markets, and 31st among import suppliers. During the same year, Israel also ranked 12th among the Philippines’ sources of approved investments, with such amounting to P829.9 million focusing on the real estate activities industry.
The MOU comes right after the signing of the first Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement between Philippines and Israel. Irma Isip
