The Philippines and Israel relations have always been warm and friendly. Political, Cultural, Economic, Scientific and Technological cooperation between the two countries continue to prosper.
The year 2007 marks the 50th Anniversary of the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between the Philippines and Israel. In 1957, the State of Israel and the Republic of the Philippines established full diplomatic relations with the signing of the Treaty of Friendship on 26 Feb 1958. The Embassy of the Republic of the Philippines in Tel Aviv and the Embassy of the State of Israel in Manila were opened in 1962.
Israelis and Filipinos share common democratic values, freedom and civil rights which are manifested in the span of Philippines and Israel bilateral relations.
The Philippines supported the UN Resolution 181 on the partition of Palestine and the Creation of the State of Israel in 1947:
The Philippines was the ONLY Asian country to support the creation of the State of Israel. On 29 November 1947, 33 countries voted in favor of the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 181 creating the State of Israel. The thirty three countries are Australia, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Byelorussian SSR, Canada, Costa Rica, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, France, Guatemala, Haiti, Iceland, Liberia, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Sweden, South Africa, Ukrainian SSR, United States of America, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, Uruguay, and Venezuela.
On 28 November 2007, the Israeli Parliament (Knesset) honored the thirty three countries which supported the UN General Assembly 181 in celebration of 60th Anniversary of the State of Israel.
The Philippine commitment to this cause is still embedded in our hearts as we co-sponsored the UN resolution to mark 27 January, a yearly commemorative day to honor the victims of the Holocaust.
Bilateral Agreements
There are, at present, fourteen major bilateral Agreements between the Philippines and Israel:
- Air Services Between and Beyond Two Countries
07 August 1951 || 07 August 1951 - Treaty of Friendship
26 February 1958 || 18 December 1963 - Technical Cooperation in Agriculture
06 March 1964 || 16 March 1964 - Cooperation on the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy
14 January 1969 || 14 January 1969 - Abolition of Transit and Visitor’s Visa
10 December 1969 || 01 January 1970 - Abolition of Visas for Holders of Diplomatic and Service Passport
14 December 1969 - Tourism
09 May 1988 || 16 April 1987 (initial)
- Cultural, Educational and Academic Research
24 April 1989 || 17 April 1991 - MOU on Scientific and Technological Cooperation
26 June 1992 - Agreement for the Avoidance of Double Taxation
09 June 1993 || 26 May 1997 - Agreement on Technical Cooperation in the Field of Agriculture and Agriculture Related Fields
06 June 1994 || 30 May 1996 - MOU on the Establishment of a Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation
11 February 1997 || 11 February 1997 - Agreement Concerning Cooperation in the Fields of Posts and Telecommunications
18 June 1997 || 27 January 1998 - Agreement on Mutual Assistance in Customs Matters
23 November 2010
Trade and Investment Relations of Israel and the Philippines
In 2020, Israel ranked 34th as the Philippines’ trading partner (out of 225 partners), 39th export market (out of 212 markets) and 31st import supplier (out of 205 suppliers).
Philippine exports to Israel declined by 13.68% from US$58.45 M in 2019 to US$50.45 M in 2020. This was due to the decrease in outward shipments of the following: a) polypropylene, in primary forms (↓90.84%); b) input or output units, whether containing storage units in the same housing (↓59.12%); and c) tunas, skipjack and bonito (sarda spp.), whole or pieces, but not minced, prepared, or preserved (↓91.62%).
Likewise, Philippine imports from Israel dropped by 31.15% from US$277.62 M in 2019 to US$191.14 M in 2020, which could be attributed to the decrease in the importation of the following: a) aeroplanes and other aircraft, of an unladen weight not exceeding 2,000 kg (↓42.47); b) other military weapons, other than revolvers, pistols and the arms of heading 93.07 (↓83.52%); and c) materials, accessories and supplies imported on consignment basis for the manufacture of dice of any material (↓25.27%).
Philippine Products/Services for Promotion to Israel
(From EMB as 02 February 2021)
- Electronics
- Smart cards; electronic integrated circuits; LED lamps
- Computer data storage units
- Photosensitive semiconductor devices
- Semiconductor devices
- Food
- Prepared or preserved tunas
- Desiccated coconuts
- Pineapples, fresh or dried
- Pineapples, prepared or preserved
- Coconut oil (excluding crude) & fractions
- Machinery
- Parts of office machines
- Other office machines
- Static converters
- Telecommunication
- Telephone sets & other voice/image transmission apparatus
- Parts of telephone sets & other transmission apparatus
- Aircrafts, spacecrafts & parts
- Airplane/helicopter parts
- Other builders’ joinery & carpentry of wood
- Optical products, watches & medical instruments
- Objective lenses
- Services
- IT-Enabled Services
- Healthcare
Top Philippine Commodity Exports to Israel, 2020
Export commodity summed at USD 50.45 M value and a 100% of share. Indicators follow: Digital monolithic integrated circuits (HS category 854221) at USD 19.14 M and 37.94% of share; Other measuring and checking instruments, appliances and machines (HS category 903180) accompanied by a USD 7.40 M and a share of 14.67%; Desiccated coconuts, fresh or dried (HS category 080111) with USD 3.03 M that gets share of 6.01%; Other parts of aeroplanes or helicopters (HS category 880330) figured at USD 2.75 M sharing a 5.45%; and Input or output units, whether or not containing storage units in the same housing (HS category 847160) closing at USD 1.42 M and a 2.82% share.
Top Philippine Commodity Imports from Israel, 2020
For 2020 commodity imports of the Philippines from Israel, inward flow of Aeroplanes and other aircraft, of an unladen weight not exceeding 2,000 kg (HS category 880220) is atop the list on import commodities, with a USD 41.8 M value and 21.87% of share. Materials, accessories, and supplies imported on consignment basis for the manufacture of dice of any material (HS category 980221) closes at a USD30.44 M share and 15.93% share. Other materials, accessories and supplies imported on consignment basis for the manufacture of semiconductor devices (HS category 980229) comes at a USD 29.24 Mvalue and 15.30% share; Radar apparatus (HS category 852610), with USD14.47 M value and 7.57% share; and lastly, Other non-military firearms (HS category 930390) seal the list at USD 11.04 value and a 5.77% of share. Aforementioned categories total at a USD 191.14M of value and a share of 100%.
Approved Investments from Israel, 2018 – 2020
2018 saw a high of US$ 0.3M (PHP 15.7M) in investment approvements which downturned in 2020. However, in the bigger scheme of investment approval considering other partners, Israel’s 2018 rank of 37th moved just a shy, at 36th in 2020. 2019 saw a 45th ranking before recovering at 36th as mentioned.
Approved Investments from Israel by Industry, 2019 – 2020
Approved investments key industries for 2020 plummeted a low 0.01% in 2020 from a reasonable 0.94% in 2019. Key industry indicators are (1) manufacturing and (2) wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles.
As of September 23, 2021, priority sectors for investment promotion to the bigger Middle East include Agro-Processing, IT/BPM, and Electronics. The top Bureau of Investments (BOI)-approved project with Israeli equity is a producer of vegetables and fruits in the country. Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) enterprises with Israel equity, commonly undertake activities in the outsourcing of businesses processes, IT-related services, and lapidary production of rough diamonds (as of 23 September 2021).
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Data obtained via request of the Chamber from the Bureau of Trade and Industrial Policy Research-DTI. With inputs from EMB, BOI, and PEZA. As of 23 September 2021.
Top 10 Philippine Products Exported to Israel
- #1 Electronics (semi conductors; Electronic data processing; office equipment; communications; radar; automotive electronics)
- #2 Chemicals (organic chemicals; Oleochemicals; Petrochemicals)
- #3 Marine products (Live fish; canned tuna; prepared and preserved marine products)
- #4 Processed food (nuts; coconut products; processed fruits; meat and meat preparations; cereal and flour preparations; processed vegetables; beverages; sauces, condiments, spices and mixes)
- #5 Garments (Baby’s/infant’s wear; men’s wear; women’s wear; articles of apparel)
- #6 Machineries / Transport equipment (Transport equipment; automotive parts; metal machinery / equipment/parts)
- #7 Furniture (Bamboo, rattan and wood furniture; furnishings; plastic furniture; metal furniture)
- #8 Carrageena
- #9 Giftware (Desk accessories; articles made of shell)
- #10 Construction Materials (metal based; asbestos materials)
Top 10 Products Imported From Israel
- #1 Electronics (semi conductors; Electronic data processing; medical/industrial instrumentation; control and instrumentation; telecommunications; consumer electronics)
- #2 Industrial Manufactures (packaging products; plastic based; fiber/textile based
- #3 Chemicals (Organic and inorganic chemicals; fertilizers dyeing tanning and coloring materials)
- #4 Machineries/ Transport equipment (machineries, equipment; apparatus)
- #5 Consumer Manufactures (Pharmaceutical products; paper; soaps and detergents; printing and publishing materials; medical supplies; timepieces)
- #6 Processed food (processed fruits; processed vegetables; cocoa)
- #7 Cut flowers
- #8 Textile yarns, twine and cordages (Desk accessories; articles made of shell)
- #9 Natural oils, fats and waxes
- #10 Construction materials (metal based construction materials)
