FINANCE Secretary Ralph G. Recto received a courtesy visit from the Ambassador of Israel to the Philippines Ilan Fluss on May 10, 2024 to discuss and identify trade and investment opportunities between the Philippines and Israel.
Ambassador Fluss highlighted Israel’s and the Philippines’ strong trade cooperation, noting the bilateral trade in goods between the Philippines and Israel amounting to USD532 Million in 2023.
Furthermore, the Ambassador conveyed his interest in “building bridges of innovation and technology” between the two countries.
Secretary Recto welcomed the possible cooperation in digitalization, particularly in tax and customs administration to promote the ease of doing business, cut red tape and corruption, and result to an overall improvement in revenue collection.
The two countries also agreed to explore potential collaboration in the aspect of security, in line with the Self Reliant Defense Posture (SRDP) Bill that is currently being discussed in the Senate.
Other possible areas of cooperation include agricultural technology, flood control systems, healthcare, cyber security, and technologies for anti-smuggling.
