We hope that 24 hours after the President’s return to the Philippines, the nation and members of his entourage have had enough time to reflect on and digest what they have learned from this important journey.
Let’s begin with the dollar values, which we unimaginatively tend to employ in evaluating a presidential trip abroad (many think the nation should get its money’s worth from these expensive visits to foreign places). Presidential communications have reported the following results from the visit to Israel:
1. The Philippines secured $82.9 million in investment deals and pledges from the trip. The deals, which were signed by Filipino and Israeli businessmen, cover investments in technology, military hardware, transportation and tourism.
In his speech during the signing of the agreements, Duterte vowed to provide a conducive investment climate to foreign investors. “There will be no corruption. There will be no harassment, no nothing. It’s an ordinary day-to-day government business that you have to follow.”
2. The two countries renewed warm relations that date back to World War II, when the Philippines extended refuge and support to thousands of Jews reeling from the barbarism of Nazi Germany.
3. During Duterte’s visit, the two countries signed four agreements on science, labor, trade and joint oil exploration.
4. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took the opportunity to commend the work of some 28,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) there, most of them caregivers. Netanyahu commended their dedication to their jobs and quality of service. Israel pays the highest sales for similar jobs in other parts of the Middle East.
What gives the bilateral relationship so much promise is the potential hard-edged learning that the Philippines can derive in the areas of national security and economic development.
Israel is a legend in the defense and security front. It was attacked seven times in the first 62 years of its existence as a nation and subjected to comprehensive diplomatic and economic embargoes. Yet they have overcome their attackers’ quantitative superiority of weapons through courage and technology and superior military skills and cohesiveness.
Secondly, Israel is an economic miracle in its own right. With only 7.1 million people, no natural resources, enemies on every border, and in a constant state of war, Israel has become the 32nd largest economy in the world by nominal gross domestic product (GDP) as of last year. The country benefits from a highly skilled workforce and is among the most educated countries in the world, with one of the highest percentages of its citizens holding a tertiary education degree.
Israel has the highest standard of living in the Middle East, and has one of the highest life expectancies in the world.
The Philippines is no slouch in the world today; but it can learn a lot from the example of Israel in terms of security and managing the economy.
Perhaps more than anything, Israel is a lesson on what creativity can do, it has bred creativity proportionate to its small size and the dangers that it has faced.
Creativity on the security front has turned it into a strong nation (perhaps secretly nuclear-powered). Creativity on the economic front has made it a highly developed country that continues to break barriers.
One particular piece of information is striking. Israel has produced more start-up companies than most developed countries have done. The country is hailed today as a laboratory of innovation and entrepreneurship.
It has more companies on the Nasdaq composite index than Korea, Japan, Singapore, China, India and all of Europe combined.
If we want lessons from anyone on how to make our country more secure, and how to develop our country’s vast potential, Israel may be the best case study.
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