PH, Russia sign deals on trade cooperation, drive vs illegal drugs
The Philippines and Russia signed two bilateral agreements during the bilateral meeting between President Aquino and Russian Prime Minister Dimitry Medvedev at the sidelines of the APEC Economic Leaders’ Summit (AELM) yesterday.
The two agreements are on the establishment of a Philippines-Russia Joint Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation and one on combating illegal drugs.
The first agreement establishes a Joint Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation, which will serve as the primary mechanism to facilitate and promote trade and economic cooperation between the Philippines and Russia.
Under the agreement, the Philippines and Russia will identify measures to facilitate the flow of bilateral trade and investments, and explore areas and sectors where cooperation could be expanded and intensified.
The agreement envisions the participation of the private sector and business community, as well as experts in the economic field to complement governmental efforts to bolster Philippines-Russia economic cooperation.
The agreement was signed by Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Gregory Domingo and Russian Minister of Economic Development Alexei Ulyukayev.
The second agreement was a Memorandum between the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and the Federal Service of the Russian Federation for Narcotics Traffic Control on Cooperation in Combating New Psychoactive Substances.
The memorandum aims to strengthen Philippines-Russia cooperation to address problems relative to the production, spread, and abuse of new psychoactive substances through exchanges of information and methods, advisory and expertise assistance, and the conduct of research, among others.
The memorandum is in line with the Philippines’ efforts to combat the use of illegal drugs in the country, which will also complement the Philippines-Russia Agreement signed in 2007 to combat the illicit trafficking of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances, and their precursors.
The memorandum was signed by PDEA Director General Arturo Cacdac Jr. and Vladimir Kalanda, first deputy director, Federal Service of the Russian Federation for Narcotics Traffic Control.
Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma, Jr. said that during the bilateral meeting, President Aquino promised more exchanges between the Philippines and Russia.
He said the Philippines is also inviting Russia for enhanced bilateral trade cooperation in the areas of IT-BPM, processed and specialty food, energy and renewables, design-driven products, and aerospace.
President Aquino cited the great potential offered by large scale public and private sector contracts, such as AG&P’s participation in Yamal LNG (liquefied natural gas) project in the Far East.
For his part, Russian Prime Minister Medvedev congratulated President Aquino for the impressive performance of the Philippine economy.
He said Russia wants to scale up economic cooperation with the Philippines in the areas of energy, telecommunications, transportation and infrastructure.
Prime Minister Medvedev also said Russia seeks to open avenues for military and defense cooperation similar to their existing agreements with adjacent states.
He also invited the Philippines to the Moscow Expo on transportation next year.
Koreans’ safety assured
Meanwhile, President Aquino assured the safety and protection of the more than one million South Koreans who visit and reside in the Philippines in his bilateral meeting with South Korean President Park Geun-hye at the sidelines of the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting (AELM) in Manila.