Vietnam- the Philippines: 30 Years of Fruitful Relations

Today, after a good 30 years of close friendship between our two countries, Philippines-Vietnam relations have never been better. Three decades of partnership between the Philippines and Vietnam have been most productive for both countries. The establishment of diplomatic relations in 1976, a year after the reunification of Vietnam, was a diplomatic breakthrough for both sides, and since then, significant strides have been made in our common goal to bring peace and stability to our region and economic growth and progress to both our countries.

The exchange of visits of officials from both sides during the last ten (10) years, in particular visits at the highest levels, have reaffirmed the close ties between our two countries and peoples. Consultative mechanisms that have evolved over the years have provided useful avenues for open and frank discussions on a widening scope of cooperation. Ongoing initiatives in the areas of trade and investment, maritime and ocean matters, political cooperation, defense and security cooperation, agriculture and fisheries, tourism, science and technology, culture, energy, health and other fields continue to propel our bilateral relations forward.

 

Both countries have reciprocally extended support and cooperation to each other in the regional and multilateral fora such as ASEAN, APEC, ARF, and ASEM and in the United Nations and its specialized agencies.                          

 

The fact that the Philippines and Vietnam are Asians, close neighbors and ASEAN members make us brothers and allies in our quest for peace and prosperity for our peoples. Our two countries share the same values of love of country, close family ties, respect for parents and elders, and other “Asian values” which I believe further strengthen the bond of friendship between our two nations. Significantly, both the Vietnamese and Filipino peoples are known to be hardworking and to have the innate aptitude and talent for making their lives better, even when times are hard. And we both share a common past of decades of struggle to become free nations.

Indeed, I look forward to the next thirty (30) and more years of close friendship and strategic partnership between the Philippines and Vietnam.

 

 

Compared with the trade statistics with other countries, it is disappointing to note that the total trade between the Philippines and Vietnam is quite low. This could be attributed to the fact that both countries produce and export similar products. Notwithstanding, Vietnam remains an important and valuable trading partner of the Philippines. Vietnam, after all, is our 14th largest trading partner and 15th biggest export market.

For the past five years (2001 to 2005), bilateral trade between the Philippines and Vietnam has grown at an average of 44 per cent annually. In 2004 and 2005, the total trade between our two countries reached the US$ 1 Billion mark.

 

Philippine exports grew at an average rate of 105.24 per cent annually for the same period 2001 to 2005. Our major exports to Vietnam were electronic storage units (microchips) comprising 80 per cent of total exports. Other exports from the Philippines were co-axial cables, mineral and chemical fertilizers, Copper cathodes, and electrical wirings.

 

Based therefore on the five-year statistics on merchandise trade, the flow of goods between the Philippines and Vietnam has been growing stronger every year. With more trade promotion activities between Vietnam and the Philippines, we are hopeful that the trend of growing bilateral trade can be sustained.

 

Vietnam and the Philippines trade relations have made progress. The major exports of Vietnam to the Philippines were rice, printed circuit boards, electronic components, and coffee. For the year 2005, Vietnam exported a total of US$ 778 million worth of goods to the Philippines.

We believe that Vietnam could increase its exports of footwear, sports apparel, bags and handicrafts (like lacquer ware and porcelain) and consumer electronics (such as digital cameras and printers) to the Philippines.

 

To further expand our trade relations, both the Philippines and Vietnam continue to seek ways and means to improve their bilateral trade. In fact, during the 4^th Meeting of the Philippines-Vietnam Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation held last November 2005 in Hanoi, both sides agreed to increase the two-way trade to US$ 2 billion by 2007. I can see, of course, that both countries have to work harder to reach this target.

To this end, both countries could facilitate the sending of trade and investment missions to each other’s countries; organize trade fairs and other investment promotion activities such as seminars and road shows. As a matter of fact, there is a proposal to hold a meeting of Filipino and Vietnamese businessmen in Manila where they will be briefed on how to do business in both countries. The meeting will likewise feature business matching between the participants.

 

We are also pushing for the convening of the Philippines-Vietnam Joint Trade Committee (JTC) meeting in Manila during the second semester of this year to enable both sides to meet and discuss trade and market promotion initiatives that could pave the way for more active and mutually beneficial economic engagements. The first JTC meeting was held in Hanoi in 2003.

 

Also, we encourage both sides to expand the range of products being traded under the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Counter-Trade. This MOU provides a general framework for trade cooperation between the two countries on a counter-trade basis. We believe that increasing the number of products that Vietnam imports from the Philippines can fill our trade gap.

As the total trade between the Philippines and Vietnam has almost always been in Vietnam’s favor, the Philippine Government has decided to reopen its honorary consulate in Ho Chi Minh City to strengthen its commercial and marketing arm in Vietnam. 

 

The Philippine Embassy in Hanoi is at the forefront of all these activities and initiatives intended to boost Philippines-Vietnam trade relations. It spearheads trade and investment promotion, facilitates investment flows to and from the Philippines, promotes Philippine products and services, and assists Filipino and Vietnamese businessmen by providing relevant information, guidance and linkage to appropriate agencies and institutions in both countries.

 

Like many developing countries, including the Philippines, who have opted to join the WTO, I am sure Vietnam is aware of the many opportunities as well as challenges facing her as a fully-fledged member of the WTO. And as the Philippines has always been supportive of Vietnam’s membership in WTO, my country applauds Vietnam’s wise decision to vigorously pursue this objective.

Vietnam’s accession to WTO will ensure her full integration into the global economy. It will allow Vietnam to compete on a level playing field. As a WTO member, Vietnam will gain more access to attractive markets such as the United States and the European Union. But at the same time, both these economic giants will also gain access to the Vietnamese market.

Although the Philippines and Vietnam already enjoy the benefits of the Preferential Tariff Regime under the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA), Vietnam’s membership in the WTO also means that it has aligned its policies and legal procedures on trade and investments with internationally accepted standards. This also means a better climate for trade and investment between our two countries.

Regionally, this is also a welcome development, as Vietnam’s progress will definitely have a positive effect on the region’s economic progress as well.