European Union-Philippines Partnership Conference all set next week

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), in collaboration with the International Trade Centre (ITC) and the European Union (EU) Delegation to the Philippines, is set to hold the 3rd EU-Philippines Partnership Conference on Dec. 4.

This year’s conference theme is “Unlocking the EU Market: Achieving Exports and Trade Successes in the EU for Philippine MSMEs.” This flagship event, part of the 2024 National Exporters’ Week, is organized under the EU-funded ARISE Plus Philippines project.

This year’s conference aims to unlock lucrative business opportunities for Philippine MSMEs in the EU market.

The EU is the Philippines’ fourth-largest trading partner, with bilateral trade reaching $16 billion in 2023. In this context, annual EU-Philippines conferences are organized to stimulate dialog and cooperation between the public and private sectors in the Philippines and the EU on trade-related issues and exchange of experiences and good practices for the benefit of Philippine policymakers and businesses.

Building on the last two conferences, which brought together close to 2,000 in-person and online participants, this year’s event aims to address critical issues surrounding exporting to the EU for Philippine MSMEs. It will bring together international and national experts and representatives from the public and private sectors. This event is particularly timely given this year’s commemoration of the 60th anniversary of EU-Philippines relations and in the context of the ongoing free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations.

Key topics include:

Navigating EU trade trends and regulatory frameworks, including sustainability-related regulations under the EU Green Deal.

Leveraging national policies to enhance export competitiveness in sectors such as renewable energy, digital innovation, and sustainable food systems.

Practical tools and training solutions to empower MSMEs, developed under the EU’s ARISE Plus Philippines project.

Seeking to bring the most for Philippine exporters, this year’s event will also include free, one-on-one business clinics for exporters delivered by ARISE Plus Philippines national experts on export management, exporting to the EU, and quality and food safety.

This event is organized within the framework of ARISE Plus Philippines, a four-year project of the Philippine government, with the DTI as the lead partner, funded by the EU, with the ITC as the technical agency. 

Official partners of the event include the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. and the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines.