On April 15, 2024, the British Chamber of Commerce Philippines Executive Director/Trustee Chris Nelson, together with the Department for Business and Trade Philippines Country Director James Thackery discussed the bilateral economic opportunities between the UK and the Philippines, citing significant sectors including cybersecurity, infrastructure, renewable energy, agriculture, among others.

The British Chamber previously held an event highlighting cybersecurity last 20 March 2024, under its monthly Trade and Connect series titled "Securing the Digital Frontier: Breaking Through Digital Boundaries" in partnership with BCCP Corporate Member CyberQ Group and Colliers.

Speakers and panelists present in the event include director and engineer of the Department of Information, Communications and Technology (DICT) Jose Carlos P. Reyes, operations head of Philippine National and Bank (PNB) Pat Pio Fondevilla, founder and CEO CyberQ Group Chris Woods, CEO-APAC Roberto Tayag, and chief solutions architect Vishvas Nayi.

As noted by Nelson during the interview: 'The UK has expressed a great deal of interest, particularly in renewable energy, also in the infrastructure side. I would also like to say from the Chamber's perspective, we just recently had an event in cybersecurity. The UK is a leader in that and that is actually a key and important area for the Philippines, as it has been noted as one of the priority bills for this administration. We had a recent event with DICT and one of our members, CyberQ UK and we all continue to push forward on that.'

The British Chamber has consistently echoed the priority of the Marcos administration in strengthening the country's cybersecurity infrastructure. It also supported the passage of 'cybersecurity priority bills' including the Cybersecurity Act and looks forward to its passage into law.

It also lauded the recent adoption of the National Cybersecurity Plan (NCSP) 2023-2028 under the Executive Order No. 58 which provides a 'whole-of-nation' approach to cybersecurity.

Meanwhile, Thackery noted other significant areas of collaboration between the UK and the Philippines, also lauding the recent trilateral agreement on the Luzon Economic Corridor among the US, Japan, and the Philippines to boost investments and economic growth.

'Lots of the priority areas as part of this partnership are in infrastructure as well as clean energy. These are things that the UK has a huge expertise in, hopefully, there is going to be lots more investment from the UK. Even where there is investment from other countries, we love to work closely [with other countries] to make sure that our expertise and some of these really critical infrastructure projects can help support its successful implementation,' Thackery said.

The British Chamber remains committed to continuously collaborate with the government and the private sector to promote sustainable projects, infrastructure development, and enhancing cybersecurity in the Philippines.

 

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