12 July 2021, Lisbon - The Philippine Embassy in Portugal in partnership with the School of Humanities of the Ateneo de Manila University and of the Centro de Humanidades of the Universidade Nova de Lisboa, co-organized the special panel entitled, From Spices to Start-Ups, on 10 July 2021, at 4:00 in the afternoon (Philippine Standard time).
This special panel is part of the virtual international conference series entitled “Contacts and Continuities: 500 years of Asian-Iberian Encounters” which was officially launched on 23 June 2021 and will run until 23 July 2021.
In her welcome remarks, Philippine Ambassador to Portugal, Celia Anna M. Feria revealed that “we named this panel From Spices to Startups as it best encapsulates how we know the history of Portugal in our part of the world, when they first went to Southeast Asia in search of spices over 500 years ago, and, carrying over this influence to the 21st century through the business and tech and digital ecosystems, where both Filipino and Portuguese businesses actively participate”.
The Philippine Embassy in Portugal has come up with three (3) main themes and has invited seven panelists who come from different fields and are involved with Philippine and Portuguese trade relations and investments. Economic Diplomacy Never Tasted This Good, the first theme of the special panel, was participated by Mr. Nuno Rocha, Sales Director of Pinhais & Co. Lda, the Portuguese manufacturers of Mabuti Sardines which used to be exported from Portugal to the Philippines. Followed by an interesting presentation of Assistant Secretary Gina Jamoralin of the Department of Foreign Affairs Manila on the DFA’s new approach to finding markets for innovative Philippine products.
From Portuguese sardines to Portuguese start-ups, the special panel also highlighted the biggest Lisbon-hosted tech conference where the Philippines has been participating. Philippine Start-ups in the Web Summit was presented by Mr. Froilan Pamintuan, the Philippine Trade Attaché based in Paris, and Mr. Ricardo Lima, head of Start-Ups in the Web Summit. Both panelists provided their first-hand experiences and perspectives on the growing interest of Philippine startups in participating in the largest annual technology conference.
Lastly, the special panel acknowledged the existing Philippine Investment in Portugal and Portuguese investment in the Philippines. This discussion was represented by Mr. Lawrence de los Santos, CEO of NST Apparel, a Filipino-owned clothing factory, located in Paredes, Portugal, which manufactures top of the line high-end garments for renowned international brands, and two Portuguese companies with contracts and business with Philippine entities namely Steconfer, headed in the Philippines by Mr. Henrique Santos, is in charge of laying down the tracts in the MRT7 light rail transit project of the Philippine government; and Sarraiva e Associados Lda., managed by Mr. Sergio Silva from Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, won the design contract for a major residential condo project in Cebu, the first high-end residential condo that will be multi-certified as green and sustainable.
From Spices to Start-Ups is one of the many initiatives of the Philippine Embassy in Portugal that aims to draw attention to the long-standing friendship between the Philippines and Portugal by revisiting historical economic connections and linkages as a way to stimulate emerging trade and investment potentials between the Philippines and Portugal. Through this special panel, which spanned for 3 1/2 hours, the panelists were able to provide the audience a glimpse of their perspectives and experiences on how the Philippines and Portugal relations have evolved and developed over the years insofar as trade, infrastructure, technology and business, in general, is concerned.
The timing of this special panel could not come at a better time as both the Philippines and Portugal are commemorating several milestone events this year: 1) The 75th Anniversary of the establishment of Diplomatic Relations between the Philippine and Portugal on 04 July 2021; 2) for the Philippines, the 5th Centennial Celebration of the Victory at Mactan, as well as the Commemoration of the 500 years of the Philippine part in the First Circumnavigation of the World by the Magellan-Elcano expedition, and 3) for Portugal, the 5th Centennial celebration of the Magellan Expedition.
The special panel was simultaneously broadcasted live on the official Facebook page of the Philippine Embassy. It received a total of 4k views and continues to garner more likes, shares and engagements. This special panel can still be viewed through the Philippine Embassy in Portugal’s official Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/PHLinPortugal and on the Contacts and Continuities Youtube Channel, https://bit.ly/Contacts_and_Continuities_on_Youtube.
