Visit of French Minister of State Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne
Mr. Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne, France’s Minister of State attached to the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, visited the Philippines last June 27 and 28 to co-chair, together with Philippine Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez, the 8th France-Philippines Joint Economic Committee (JEC) meeting.
The committee’s work was centered on economic cooperation, particularly in the fields of infrastructure, green technologies, renewable energy, the aerospace industry, and electronics and manufacturing. Also participating in the discussions was a delegation of French companies led by the French business association, MEDEF International.
These topics were likewise raised during the meeting of Mr. Lemoyne with Socio-economic Planning Secretary and Director-General of the National Economic and Development Authority Ernesto Pernia and Acting Information and Communications Technology Secretary Eliseo Rio.
During his visit, Mr. Lemoyne also met Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin, Jr. and Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III for an exchange on the different axes of French-Philippine bilateral cooperation. In this regard, the Minister of State expressed the desire of the French government to further enhance its cooperation with the Philippines in the fields of culture, research, defense and security.
The bilateral meeting with Secretary Locsin was also an opportunity to tackle security issues, particularly questions on maritime affairs, counter-terrorism cooperation, the global fight against climate change, as well as the inclusive strategic vision of France for the Indo-Pacific region where the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) plays a major role. The Philippines sits as a founding member of the ASEAN.