Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Alfredo Pascual reaffirmed the Philippines’ commitment to regional cooperation and economic integration at the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) Ministerial Meeting on June 6, 2024.
He underscored the need for collective action in addressing common global challenges such as clean energy transition and anti-corruption mechanisms.
“It is important for the Philippines that the IPEF Agreements are able to empower partner countries and boost their value propositions as key trade allies and prime locations for strategic, sustainable, and inclusive investments––including by providing access to mechanisms for technical assistance, capacity-building and other collaborative activities such as best practices and information-sharing, support for infrastructure modernization, workforce and project development, public-private partnerships, and collaboration with the academia,” Pascual said.
Recognizing the significant advancements made since the signing of the Supply Chain Agreement in San Francisco last fall, the DTI chief welcomed the landmark signing of three key agreements––the Overarching Agreement on the IPEF, the Clean Economy Agreement, and the Fair Economy Agreement.
Pascual said with the implementation of the supply chain agreement, he expects the IPEF partners to achieve their goals of improving supply chain transparency, addressing supply chain crises and vulnerabilities, enhancing the role of workers, and promoting labor rights.
Pascual said the Clean Economy Agreement would provide a framework that is tailored to address the needs and gaps of IPEF partners in the transition to clean economies. He noted the importance of the Cooperative Work Program which would serve as a platform to exchange ideas and best practices necessary to determine the best approaches toward green transition.
He also commended the progress in the existing work on hydrogen and carbon markets, the ongoing discussions on clean electricity, just transition and sustainable aviation as well as the recent proposals on embedded emissions accounting, e-waste urban mining, and small modular reactors.
The inaugural Clean Economy Investor Forum demonstrates the countries’ shared commitment to pursue stronger stakeholder engagement and deeper economic ties to drive sustainable, inclusive, and worker-centric growth targeted toward greater economic integration.
