On 5 June 2019, Consul General Evelyn D. Austria-Garcia (2nd from right) met in Munich with Bavarian State Chancellery officials, including Protocol Chief Dr. Alfred Ruhrmaier, to explore avenues to further deepen Philippine relations with the German state. Bavaria is home of luxury car-maker BMW, the heralded FC Bayern Munich football team, and Oktoberfest, among renowned companies and events. Also in the photo are Dr. Stefan Detig, Philippine Honorary Consul to Bavaria, and Dr. Bernd Foster, Director for International Relations of the Bavarian State Chancellery.
Consul General Austria-Garcia (2nd from left) is shown with Mr. Frank Dollendorf (leftmost), Managing Director for International Business, Industry & Innovation of the Chamber of Commerce & Industry (IHK) of Munich and Upper Bavaria, the largest such chapter in Germany with approximately 390,000 member companies. Bavaria’s GDP in 2018 stood at US$ 700 billion, which is more than double that of the Philippines’ GDP of US$ 330 billion in the same year. The Philippine Consul General underscored that now is the best time to consider the Philippines’ as a destination for German investments in view of the country’s continued stellar economic performance and challenges being confronted by Germany with its traditional economic partners. A delegation of corporate executives from Bavaria is being planned to visit the Philippines in 2020. Also in the photo are Mr. Hannes Aurbach (2nd from right), Unit Head for Asia-Pacific of IHK Munich, and Deputy Consul General Emil Fernandez (rightmost).