Japan's envoy to the Philippines said on Sunday he expects the approval and early entry into force this year of the free trade agreement between Manila and Tokyo amid delays in the Philippine Senate to ratify the pact.
Japanese Ambassador Makoto Katsura told local media he is "trying his best" to assist concerned Philippine authorities to push for the ratification of the pact, known as the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA).
Katsura maintained that JPEPA "will promote the national interests of both countries and make bilateral relations even closer, in offering wide-ranging benefits to the peoples of both countries."
Ratification of the agreement, he stressed, would make Philippines-Japan "bilateral economic relations more comprehensive, more interactive and more mutually beneficial."
JPEPA was signed on Sept. 9, 2006 by President Arroyo and former Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi during the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) in Helsinki, Finland.
The agreement aims to promote a freer trans-border flow of goods, persons, services and capital between Japan and the Philippines.
It also seeks to promote a comprehensive economic partnership, which includes intellectual property, competition policy, improvement of business environment and bilateral cooperation in such fields as human resources development, information and communications technology and small and medium enterprises.
The Japanese Diet approved the treaty in December 2006.
However, JPEPA cannot be enforced unless ratified by the Philippine Senate, which earlier recommended a re-negotiation of the pact, citing defects and "constitutional infirmities".
Japan, which has similar pacts with other Southeast Asian countries like Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia, have warned that the Philippines may risk losing further Japanese investments if the agreement is not signed.
But Philippine senators countered that the Senate will not be bound by any deadline.
Source: Xinhua
|
Comment
Tell A Friend
Print Format
Save Article