MANILA, Philippines – British Columbia is opening a trade and investment office in Manila, its first in Southeast Asia.
The office will facilitate trade and investment opportunities not only between the Philippines and British Columbia, but also between the latter and other member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).
“British Columbia like the Philippines is a trading nation and we create more jobs and opportunities when we trade more. The Philippines is one of the fastest growing economies in the world, no surprise given that the Filipino people are some of the most hardworking people in the world,” British Columbia Premier Christy Clark said.
“Because this economy is growing so quickly and we have such a strong relationship already between British Columbia and the Philippines, it’s really a natural thing. The thing for me is Manila and Philippines feels very familiar because there are so many people of Filipino descent where I live, and I think the strength of the human relationships between us will mean trade will grow very quickly,” Clark added.
The establishment of the trade office is expected to help businesses in the Asean region discover benefits of doing business with British Columbia which is located on Canada’s Pacific coast.
British Columbia is Canada’s leader in economic relations with Asia and the top Canadian province in exports to the Philippines.
Likewise, it is seen as a strategic gateway to the North American market.
With a trade and investment office situated in Manila, Clark said British Columbia hopes to see bilateral trade with the Philippines growing significantly in the coming years.
“I see an opportunity to double the growth we have between British Columbia and Philippines over the next several years. I think in a very short timeframe we can double it quite easily with our trade office here just because the economy here is growing quickly and our economy is growing quickly as well,” she said.
“So we see in the Philippines and the growth here huge opportunities for British Columbia and that’s in areas like agrifood, working together in areas like clean energy, healthcare and education. So all these are areas where we can collaborate and create jobs in both countries,” Clark added.