Slovenia eyes increased trade, investments in Philippines

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MANILA, Philippines — Slovenia is eyeing increased trade and investments in the Philippines as the latter negotiates a free trade agreement with the European Union (EU).

Slovenia’s Ambassador Smiljana Knez told reporters that trade with the Philippines is growing, but remains low, reaching just $30 million last year.

Within Southeast Asia, she said the Philippines is at the middle of the pack in terms of the trade level with Slovenia.

She said there is room to further grow trade between the two countries, especially as the Philippines is currently negotiating a trade deal with the EU.

“This (FTA) will definitely help. And we are really very happy that the negotiations are going very well and there is a good perspective that the FTA can be signed rather soon,” Knez said.

Earlier, Trade Secretary Cristina Roque said the Philippines hopes to complete FTA negotiations with EU by June or July this year.

“I am really actively searching for areas where we can do more,” Knez said.

She said there is potential to strengthen trade in the pharmaceutical and energy sectors given that life sciences and high-tech energy solutions are strong areas for Slovenia.

“I believe that there are potentials because you are also so vulnerable and exposed as we are,” she said.

The Middle East conflict has also put greater importance on energy efficiency.

Meanwhile, Slovenian companies are gearing up to engage and secure deals with some of the Philippines’ largest businesses, including those controlled by the Pangilinan, Ayala, Aboitiz, Razon, Gokongwei, Lopez and San Miguel groups.

Slovenia-based International Center for Promotion of Enterprises (ICPE) is bringing a business delegation to the Philippines this week on a trade mission focused on energy resilience and security amid the global oil crisis.

ICPE advisor Jure Tomc said Slovenian firms focused on water solutions, digital infrastructure, electric power, electric vehicle manufacturing, artificial intelligence and automation have identified several Philippine companies for potential meetings.

These local firms include conglomerates JG Summit Holdings Inc. of the Gokongwei Group and Pangilinan-led Metro Pacific Investments Corp., according to a list provided to reporters.

Also included are Aboitiz Power Corp., Lopez-led First Gen Corp., ACEN Corp. of the Zobel family, Razon-owned More Electric and Power Corp., along with SunAsia Energy, Mabuhay Energy and San Miguel Corp.’s Petron Corp.

The list further covers Prime Water Infrastructure Corp., Saavedra-led Megawide Construction Corp., Razon Group’s International Container Terminal Services Inc. and Ayala-led Integrated Micro-Electronics Inc.

Slovenian firms are also eyeing aviation infrastructure firm San Miguel Aerocity Inc., as well as defense and security companies Propmech Corp. and Steelcraft Industrial & Development Corp.

“We started working on this in December. We’ve had a lot of video conference calls with potential partners in the Philippines before we came here,” said Tomc, who leads coordination efforts to connect Slovenian and Philippine firms.

For energy companies in particular, he noted that discussions have focused on helping keep Philippine power grids “stable, well maintained and monitored.”

This week, the Slovenian Embassy and the Stratbase Institute staged a two-day event to facilitate the exchange of best practices among researchers, innovators and businesses, as well as promote direct cooperation between Manila and Ljubljana.

This comes at a time when global markets once again face energy supply pressures amid ongoing Middle East tensions, which have exposed vulnerabilities of countries heavily reliant on imported oil.

“There is a strong need to be more efficient and cost-effective in energy production, infrastructure and usage,” Knez said yesterday.

She stressed that implementing energy efficiency measures would reduce exposure to geopolitical disruptions and advance climate change mitigation.

“The choices we make about energy will shape our prosperity and security. Slovenia stands ready to cooperate closely with the Philippines through technology sharing, academic collaboration and public-private partnerships,” Knez said.

Slovenia’s major exports to the Philippines include pharmaceuticals, dairy products and semiconductors. It imports semiconductors and agricultural products, including coconut oil from the Philippines.