New Zealand offers free trade agreement
March 15, 2006
New Zealand offers free trade agreement
(Manila Standard Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) New Zealand has offered to sign a free trade agreement with the Philippines to boost bilateral relations, an official said yesterday.
Prime Minister Helen Clark said she made the offer to President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo when they met in Cebu, where an international interfaith dialog is being held.
"We’ve talked about it extensively but as of now, there is still no commitment, but we’ve made the offer," Clark told reporters at the New Zealand embassy in Makati City.
She said a free trade agreement would result in a bigger exchange of goods and technologies between the two countries.
"The Philippines has become one of the biggest trade partners of New Zealand, and in spite of the intense politics here, business still seems to grow," Clark said.
The Philippines is working on a similar trade pact with Japan, and it’s expected to be signed this year.
Clark witnessed yesterday the signing of a memorandum of agreement between New Zealand’s Universal College of Learning School of Art and Design and the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde School of Design and Arts.
The three-year agreement will allow graduates of De La Salle-Saint Benilde to enroll at the New Zealand school. Ferdinand Fabella
