00:00Trade and Industry Secretary Christina Roque was there along with Minister for Foreign Trades and French Nationals Abroad,
00:08Laurent Saint-Martin, and members of the Philippine and French business communities for the France Business or Philippine Business Forum in Makaree City.
00:17In speaking before her audience, Secretary Roque underscored the need for French businesses to even expand their holdings or investments here,
00:27given more incentives up for grabs as a result of the Create More Act in place.
00:34And to even sweeten the pot, so to speak, the Philippines in a heightened pace to put up various sources of renewable energy.
00:41For her part, Minister Saint-Martin cited the Philippines as a key economic partner given the growing presence of French businesses in the country.
00:52Right now, the Philippines is France's sixth largest trading partner and is seen to even climb with added direct flights between Paris and Manila,
01:03the only city in Southeast Asia where people in and from France can fly straight to.
01:09I strongly encourage French companies who have yet to enter the Philippine market to explore the vast opportunity that we offer.
01:19And to those already here, I extend a warm invitation to expand your operations further.
01:25The Department of Trade and Industry will always be here to assist you as best and as aggressive and as quickly as we can.
01:34This new route marks a tangible milestone in our relations, helping to facilitate trade, tourism, business exchanges.
01:44I sincerely hope that this direct link will help bring the Philippines closer to France
01:49and increase its visibility among our business community and travelers.
