More Philippine babanas will be shipped to Russia in the coming months after the country said it would import $2.5 billion in agricultural products from Manila, Department of Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon Lopez said Sunday, November 20.
Lopez said the Russian side agreed “immediately” to a proposal for the importation of Philippine fruit and other agricultural products in the next 12 months during Saturday’s bilateral discussions between President Duterte and Vladimir Putin in Peru.
“Their immediate estimate is $2.5 billion. That’s a number they [Russian side] quoted,” Lopez told Filipino journalists covering the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders Meeting in Peru’s capital.
This dwarfs the $80 million worth of exports the Philippines currently ships to Russia every year, he said.
Lopez said Putin also offered to help the Philippines through investments in energy and infrastructure. The Philippines may also expect more tourists from Russia, ABS-CBN reported.
The trade secretary said Putin and Mr. Duterte had established “very good rapport” in their first bilateral meeting on Saturday on the sidelines of the APEC summit.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay confirmed that Putin extended the invitation for Duterte to visit Russia.
“Russian President Putin has formally extended an invitation for the President to go to Russia, which will be preceded by a trip that I will have to undertake there this December,” Yasay said.
The trip, Yasay believes, will herald Manila and Moscow’s entry into various agreements.
