KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will mark its biggest presence in the Philippines through the Malaysia Promotion Programme (MPP) in Manila from March 11 to 18, 2018.
The event, organised by Malaysia External Trade Development Corp, will be spearheaded by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) and led by its minister, Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed.
In a statement, MITI said, the event would serve as a platform to strengthen the brand of Malaysia in the Philippines and to promote Malaysia as a preferred partner for sourcing, trade and investments, tourism destination and a gateway to Asean.
It said the Philippines, being one of the fastest-growing economies in Asean with big population and growing middle class, offered a lot of potentials for Malaysian businesses.
The MPP would showcase the best of Malaysian food, culture and the country’s construction services providers and building materials suppliers through the three activities lined up to promote the ‘Malaysia’ brand, it said.
It said the event would kick-start with Citarasa Malaysia at Glorietta Shopping Mall which would showcase Malaysian dishes and cuisine, giving guests a chance to taste Malaysian food and culture.
Twenty-five companies from Malaysia and Philippines in the food and halal section would take part in the exhibition and business matching programme, it said.
MITI said other than the Citarasa Malaysia, the MPP would also include Malaysia Business Forum and Worldbex Exhibition.
The business forum, titled, ‘Leveraging Partnership, Asean and Beyond’, would be held on March 12, at Shangri-La Hotel, Manila and was targeted to attract close to 300 participants, it said.
“It will serve as a platform for businesses from Malaysia and the Philippines to explore business opportunities in both countries as well as strengthening the network,” it said.
MITI said the orldbex Exhibition, which would take place from March 14-18, 2018 at the World Trade Centre, Metro Manila, would see the participation of 27 Malaysian exhibitors who would showcase and promote Malaysian building and construction materials, office furniture and services.
The business meetings, which would be arranged for the Philippines and Malaysian companies, were targeted to increase Malaysian products and services export to the Philippines market, it said.
It saidMustapa was also scheduled to meet the Secretary of Trade and Industry of the Philippines, Ramon Lopez, to discuss ways to further enhance economic cooperation between both countries as well as to deepen regional economic integration agenda via the implementation of the Asean Economic Community (AEC) 2025 in, including efforts towards expediting the conclusion of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) negotiations.
The Philippines remains an important trade and investment partner for Malaysia.
In 2017, Malaysia-Philippines bilateral trade grew by 26.1 per cent to US$5.94 billion (RM3.91 per dollar) with exports to the Philippines grew by 21.2 per cent to reach US$3.85 billion. — Bernama