Purisima bats for stronger trade ties with Thailand

Trade and Industry Secretary Cesar V. Purisima is pushing for stronger ties with Thailand in a bid to generate new business opportunities for local telecommunications firms and small and medium enterprises (SME) that are into information and communications technology (ICT).

Purisima said one way of promoting the Philippines as an IT hub in Asia is by exploring new markets and actively promoting Philippine IT services and forming strategic alliances or partnerships with ASEAN neighbors.

Trade Undersecretary Thomas G. Aquino concurred, saying that "capitalizing on stronger relations with Thailand can help us further develop our IT innovations and bilateral and multilateral cooperation among countries across the region.

Next month, the Philippines, through the Department of Trade and Industry’s Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM) and the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CITC) will join the ICT Expo 2004 to be held in Bangkok, Thailand.

The ICT Expo is an exhibition of Asia’s most important technological advancements in telecommunications. It brings together ASEAN ICT ministers, entrepreneurs, government and state officers as well as technology and software developers in Asia.