The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
The Philippines and United Kingdom reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening economic ties at the 2nd Joint Economic and Trade Committee Meeting held earliet this week.
The meeting was co-chaired by DTI Undersecretary Allan B. Gepty and Minister of State for Trade Anas Sarwar of the UK’s Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade.
Building on the momentum of the inaugural meeting in March 2025, both sides endorsed a refreshed programme of work to advance cooperation in trade, agriculture, energy, infrastructure and economic development. Discussions also covered emerging areas of collaboration, including grid modernisation, civil nuclear energy, trade digitalisation, and space. Both sides shared views on recent regional and global economic developments, ASEAN-UK relations, and the Philippines’ application to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.
“Our engagement today is a testament to our long-standing economic relations and to a partnership that continues to evolve in response to a rapidly changing global environment. The Philippines and the United Kingdom are natural partners, with strong complementarities across trade and investment, innovation, digitalization, clean energy, infrastructure, and advanced services,” Usec Gepty said.
Prior to the JETCO meeting, the Philippine Trade and Investment Center in London, in partnership with the British Embassy in Manila, convened a business roundtable bringing together representatives from Philippine and UK business organizations, namely, the Philippine Exporters Confederation, Inc., Electronics Industry Association of the Philippines Inc., Philippine British Business Council, British Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, UK-ASEAN Business Council and the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines. It provided an opportunity for the business community to share insights and recommendations to further PH-UK economic relations.
UK remains an important economic partner of the Philippines. In 2025, bilateral trade in goods reached USD 1.1 billion, with exports amounting to USD 537 million and imports of USD 613 million.
The UK was the Philippines’ top source of foreign direct investment in 2024.