New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern oversees 3 new agreements with PH

MANILA, Philippines – New Zealand is moving to consolidate and deepen ties with the Association of Southeast Nations (ASEAN) – the Philippines in particular – with no less than its newly-elected leader overseeing 3 new agreements with the country.

“I see it as a real positive that my first personal visit outside New Zealand is to Southeast Asia. New Zealand has recognized the importance of this region for more than 40 years, but we have never been closer than we are today,” said New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern at the signing of the agreements in Makati on November 14.

The 37-year-old leader was in Manila to attend the 31st ASEAN Summit for the first time and took note of deepening relations with the Philippines. 

“The growth of travel in both directions is now over 25%,” she said, “so I’m particularly pleased to be here now to celebrate the growing ties between our two countries.”

Data from Tourism New Zealand show that Philippine arrivals to New Zealand doubled over the past 3 years – 23,120 Filipinos visited New Zealand, while 29,800 New Zealanders visited the Philippines between September 2016 and September of this year.

Filipinos tourists also spend an average of 14.9 days in New Zealand, the highest across that nation’s South and Southeast Asian market.

Ardern pointed out that, “The Philippine diaspora is an important part of this equation. More than 1% of New Zealand’s population are Filipinos and it is now the 3^rd largest and fastest growing Asian community.”

The Philippines, too, is now New Zealand’s largest source of foreign students from the ASEAN region with over 4,000 Filipino students in new Zealand.

“This is New Zealand’s fastest growing international student markets in recent years and I can’t overstate the importance and the depth of the relationship that comes with having students come and spend some time with us,” Ardern said.

The Prime Minister also announced that she plans to appoint two Filipinos as honorary consuls to be based in Cebu and Davao as part of a plan to increase New Zealand’s commercial interests outside Manila.  

Solidifying ties

These links are also set to deepen with the signing of a new memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the New Zealand government and flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) that will see both collaborating on a 3-year-long joint marketing effort.

The agreement follows PAL announcing a few months ago that it will begin mounting direct flights from Manila to Auckland on December 6 this year.

As part of the move, PAL will use a larger Airbus 340 for the route which will increase capacity to 762 seats per week compared to the current 624.

Ardern noted that the direct flight will not only boost tourism but trade between the two nations as well.

“Auckland airport has estimated that the new non-stop flight will inject NZD$13.6 million (P477 million) annually into the New Zealand economy and I am certain that regular and convenient air links will enable greater people-to-people and commercial links between our countries,” she said.

New Zealand is currently the Philippines’ 22nd largest trading partner, which saw a 6.7% increase to NZD$1.1 billion (P38.6 billion) last year based on New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) data.

The Philippines’ total exports to New Zealand totaled NZ$221 million (P7.76 billion) last year with the primary products being fruit and nuts and printing machinery

New Zealand exports to the Philippines were valued at NZD$887million (P31.1 billion), with 71% of these exports being dairy products, followed by wood and paper pulp.

Sharing geothermal and weather expertise

Beyond boosting tourism, agreements were also signed that would see both countries boost their expertise in geothermal energy and weather forecasting.

The Department of Energy represented by secretary Alfonso Cusi signed an MOU with New Zealand’s Ambassador David Strachan that will create a platform for both country’s geothermal industries to exchange experience and technical assistance, and update an agreement signed in 2012.

As of end-2015 the Philippines had the second largest installed geothermal capacity in the world at around 2,000 megawatts (MW), with New Zealand in 4^th place with a capacity of nearly 1,000 MW.

Ardern also reminded the audience that deep ties are felt not only in good times but also in bad.

“New Zealand will not forget the valuable contribution Filipino workers made after the earthquake in Christchurch and New Zealand is proud to have supported the Philippines after Typhoon Yolanda,” she said.

In light of this, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) also signed an MOU with its New Zealand counterpart MetService.

The agreement will see MetService sharing its technology, weather intelligence reporting techniques, and data to help Pagasa create weather visualization solutions for the country. – Rappler.com