Philippines, Sweden seek stronger ties in key sectors

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines and Sweden are looking for stronger cooperation in clean energy, digitalization and manufacturing to spur growth and generate quality jobs, according to the Department of Finance.

Finance Secretary Frederick Go met with Ambassador Anna Ferry and the Swedish delegation during a courtesy visit to explore opportunities for increased investments in the Philippines on June 9.

“What we are pushing for is job creation. We welcome manufacturing investments, for instance, because it has the capability to create many jobs for the country’s highly skilled labor force,” Go said.

Go said the Marcos administration is keen on attracting investments in clean energy, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity solutions.

The Department of Energy said the country seeks to increase its share of renewable energy in the power mix to 35 percent by 2030 and 50 percent by 2040.

Sweden’s Trade Commissioner Johan Lennefalk highlighted their edge in fossil?free energy technologies and renewable energy solutions.

“In energy, of course, we are mostly fossil-free. We are working with the Swedish Energy Agency on various technologies, including floating offshore wind as well as integrated wind and solar solutions,” he said.

“We hope to see some installations down the line and there are already two or three companies involved in these initiatives,” Lennefalk said.

Go also raised opportunities in health care, agriculture, food security, electronics, mineral processing and the service sector, amid their potential to ramp up investment flows and job creation.

Meanwhile, Ferry called for faster grant processing to help attract more investors and speed up development project rollout.

Both governments traded views on expanding cooperation to further strengthen bilateral economic relations. The discussion also signaled their shared commitment to sustainable growth, innovation and job creation through stronger economic cooperation.