LONDON – A Philippine lawmaker will soon embark on parliamentary visits to Russia to further boost trade relations between the 2 countries.

Sen. Edgardo Angara had just returned from a 3-city week-long business trip in Europe, including Moscow. Angara also visited London and Madrid.

Angara said foreign governments highly regard the ascendancy of Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III to the presidency.

“Huwag tayong matatakot na mag-incur tayo ng deficit lalo na si President-elect Noynoy dahil bago siya. He needs a boost ng ekonomiya,” Angara said.

According to the lawmaker, this should be the opportune time to capitalize, or for government to pursue non-traditional markets like Russia to sell Philippine products.

“Ano pang produkto ang pwede nating ipagbili sa kanila? Coconut? Desiccated coconut? Yung seaweeds, yung electronics natin, mga semiconductors, electronic products,” he said.
 
Job opportunities

For Angara, Russia is also a good and better alternative job destination for Filipino workers.

He revealed that there is a big demand for medical workers, engineers, chefs and other professionals, especially those in the field of science and technology in Russia.

The problem, he said, is that Russia does not have enough information about the Philippines.

To address this, the senator will spearhead a parliamentary exchange in September of this year.

“Malaki ang demand nila pero ang nakikita kong malaking problema, obstacle, ay yung language nga,” he added.

Angara is targeting to lure at least 100,000 Russian tourists to visit the country each year.

He estimates there are about 10-million Russian tourists who travel every year, but only 12,000 manage to visit the Philippines.