THE Philippines and France signed six deals during the visit of Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade and French Nationals Abroad Laurent Saint-Martin here.
One of the deals signed at the French Ambassador Residence in Makati City on April 11 was the joint declaration between Saint-Martin and Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Vince Dizon.
This aims to advance the partnership between Manila and France in supporting the Philippines’ rail and maritime capacity.
“(T)ransportation in France is very important — railways, airways, maritime. And we have a big demand here in the Philippines, and we match, meaning that we can have a lot of French companies that can answer and that can be prepared to offer some response to Filipino demand,” Saint-Martin said.
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) also signed an agreement with French firm OCEA for the maintenance vessels built by the latter for the Philippine government.
Another deal in maritime transport was finalized, which was the memorandum of understanding between the DOTr and French company Hydrogène de France for decarbonization efforts.
In the air transport sector, two partnerships were inked and were witnessed by Dizon and Saint-Martin, including the agreement between Air France and Cebu Pacific as well as the letter of intent between France’s Ascendance Flight Technologies and the Philippines’ PhilJets Aero Charter Corp.
In a chance interview, Cebu Pacific president and chief commercial officer Alexander Lao said the company has selected Air France as partner for its Component Support Program for A320/A321 aircraft.
Lao said the deal is also an extension of its partnership with the French company for the past eight years.
Lastly, the French Development Agency (AFD) and the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD) are extending a 1 million euro grant to the Philippines to implement a research on climate-resilient agriculture and support for Geographical Indications, through the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines. (PNA)
