EU wants to boost trade with PH

Romanian Ambassador Raduta Dana Matache gestures during a roundtable interview with The Manila Times Chairman and CEO Dante ‘Klink’ Ang 2nd on Thursday, Aug. 25, 2022. PHOTO BY JOHN RYAN BALDEMOR

By Bernadette E. Tamayo, Manila Times

THE Philippines should take advantage of the "heightened interest" of the European Union to boost trade with the Philippines, the ambassador of Romania to Manila said.

"The whole of the EU is interested in the Philippines," Ambassador Raduta Dana Matache said on Thursday in a roundtable interview with The Manila Times Chairman Dante "Klink" Ang 2nd.

Matache started as Romania's envoy to the Philippines last December with a mandate from Romanian President Klaus Iohannis "to help re-launch relations" between Bucharest and Manila.

The Philippines and Romania celebrated half a century of diplomatic relations this year. The two countries established diplomatic ties on Feb. 29, 1972.

There are an estimated 1,300 Filipinos in the central European country.

Romania was the first country in the former socialist eastern European bloc with which the Philippines established diplomatic ties, at the initiative of former president Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr.

Asked how she could put the Philippines on the "radar" of the Romanian people and the rest of the EU, Matache said Romania can serve as the Philippines' "springboard" to the European community.

"You should take advantage of this heightened interest and have this responsibility for enhanced cooperation [with EU]," she said.

The ambassador added that it "would help immensely" if the Philippines reopens its embassy in Bucharest which was closed in 2012 supposedly to cut costs.

Matache said her government is "interested in a strong, free democratic Philippines that is at peace with its neighbors."

"We are interested in freedom of navigation because in a globalized world, even if Romania is 10,000 kilometers away, [it] is affected by everything that happens here," she said.

The Philippines has some areas of development that interest Romania most, the envoy said. "You have a fantastic business process outsourcing sector. We have a lot of startups. We can help each other by putting together a competitive advantage," Matache said.

In a video message in June during a cultural event co-hosted by the Romanian embassy in Manila, Romanian Foreign Affairs Minister Bogdan Aurescu said his country is determined to strengthen its ties with the Philippines and jointly promote international order in the Indo-Pacific region.

Aurescu said Romania continues to be actively involved in the implementation of the EU Indo-Pacific strategy. "We advocate that a stable and developed Southeast Asia is central to a safe and prosperous world," Aurescu added. "All these as well as our common interests in ensuring and preserving peace and security and respect for human rights worldwide bring our two countries even closer."

"We look forward to expanding our bilateral, political and economic cooperation, trade investments and people to people exchanges," he said.