The Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan recently forged ties with the Lodz Regional Development Agency of Poland, establishing a strong partnership toward the promotion and development of trade and commerce in the Bataan freeport area.
AFAB Chairman and Administrator Emmanuel D. Pineda signed the memorandum of understanding with LRDA president Przemyslaw Andrzejak and Vice-President Agnieszka First in Lodz, Poland.
Under the MOU, the two agencies vowed to cooperate closely to establish strong and prospective business relations. The AFAB assured the international agency that it would assist all entrepreneurs from the region of Lódź in locating to the FAB and the Philippines.
“Hopefully, this MOU is the start of a very important partnership. The support of the Lódź Regional Development Agency will help in assuring the investors from Poland and the region that they will have partners toward success when they locate to FAB,” Pineda said.
The AFAB chairman added that the agreement is expected to lure more Polish investors to the freeport.
During the signing ceremony, Andrzejak said the partnership with the AFAB is a welcome development, noting that the Authority is expected to help the entrepreneurs from Lodz in having business contacts in the Philippines.
Polish businessmen are eyeing partnerships in the industries of food and beverage, pharmaceutical, construction, chemical, bio-economy, housing, expansion areas, renewable energy and transportation.
Through the MOU, the AFAB and LRDA will also organize and hold business missions, meetings and seminars focused on the possible cooperation opportunities.
The Bataan freeport is tagged as the emerging economic dragon of the country. It is also known as one of the fashion manufacturing hubs of the Philippines, as it possesses a budding cluster of companies producing high-end brands of garments, apparel, shoes and accessories, like bags, jewelries, among others.
AFAB’s vision is to be the Freeport of choice in the country by 2020, becoming a center of trade, innovation and sustainable development in Asia and promoting work-life balance and global competitiveness.