Department of Trade andIndustry (DTI) welcomed 20 Philippine honorary consuls based in Europe through a PhilippineTrade and Investment briefing,in support of the honorary consuls' trade and investment promotional efforts in Europe, held on February 8 in BDO North Tower, Makati City.The 20 Philippine honorary consuls from Europe represent Greece, Germany, Switzerland, Bulgaria,Serbia, Belarus, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, France, Albania, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Croatia and Austria.The briefing, organized in collaboration with the Philippine Trade andInvestment Center Berlin, Board ofInvestments, DTI Export Marketing Bureau and supported by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry,European Union Delegation to the Philippines, German Philippine Chamber of Commerce Inc. and EU Philippines Business Network, provided an overview of Philippine economic landscape, including trade and investment opportunities between the Philippines and Europe.DTI Trade and Investments Promotion Group Undersecretary Nora K. Terrado, together with Edward Wenceslao, senior vice president and group head for international desks of BDO Unibank, welcomed the honorary consuls."Europe is a strong economic partner of the Philippines. In the first quarter of 2017,EU investment share in the Philippiness too dat 45 percent of the total foreign approved investments.Philippine goods exported toEU also grew by 31 percent, amounting to $8.4 billion in 2017," Terrado said during her welcome remarks.. Among European countries,Germany is the Philippines's largest trading partner, followed by the Netherlands, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Belgium, Spain, Ireland and Austria.The 20 Philippine honorary consuls are in the Philippines to join the familiarization tour being organized by the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs an initiated by former' Philippine Ambassador to Germany, Melita Sta. MariaThomeczek, Philippine Ambassador to Paris Maria Theresa Lazaro and the Philippine Embassy in Oslo, Norway.
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