(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Philippine ambassador Wilfredo Santos wants to bring more Qatari investments to the Philippines, but feels some issues on the reciprocal protection of investments should be resolved first.
"In fact, for more investment to come from Qatar, we need to first work out the memorandum of understanding (MoU) and that is a stumbling block which we intend to resolve from both sides," the envoy said.
Once signed, the agreement is expected to boost investments
between Qatar and the Philippines.
First secretary and consul Gonaranao Musor echoed the statements of Santos, saying they want to come up with a version of the agreement that should be beneficial for both parties.
The Philippine embassy official hopes the signing of the MoU would be pushed through, citing the already established linkages between the Philippine Council of Chamber and Commerce (PCCI) and its Qatari counterpart, the Qatar Chamber.
He said there is a proposal from the PCCI for them to come to Qatar and awaits feedback from Qatar Chamber.
"Hopefully, once the ambassador has presented his credentials to HH the Emir, it will pave the way for him to meet with Qatar Chamber and other business organisations in Qatar," Musor added.
He recently announced that some authorities from the Philippine Legal Office Department would visit the country soon.
The Philippines, together with its other Association of South East Asian Nations counterparts in Doha, recently paid a call on the head of the Qatari Businessmen Association (QBA), according to Musor.
"During the call, we reiterated that there has been a previous invitation by Philippine Vice-President Jejomar Binay and former president Joseph Estrada for the head of QBA to visit the Philippines," he added.
About which field the embassy would concentrate on, Santos said they were planning
to focus on the economic side.
While relations between the two countries are strong politically, he admitted that Qatar and the Philippines are not strong trading partners.
The envoy noted that the Philippines' export to Qatar is minimal compared to its imports, which is basically petroleum products.
"We have to look at ways on how we can restore the balance of trade," said Santos, as he cited the competence of his deputy at the embassy.
"He is in charge of the economic and political sections. He and I will work together on ways in which we can improve on this area of bilateral relations."
About the plan of Philippine Airlines (PAL) to fly to Qatar, Santos said it is still being worked out as Qatar wants more frequencies.
PAL had announced its maiden flight to take place in November 2013 but it was cancelled. Its officials have yet to issue any statement concerning the cancellation.
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