HUMAN TOLL. Scene of destruction in Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip after an Israeli airstrike on the second week of Operation Swords of Iron on Oct. 17, 2023. The International Chamber of Commerce has supported a United Nations General Assembly resolution calling for a ceasfire. (Photo by Majdi Fathi/Tazpit Press Service)
MANILA – The International Chamber of Commerce-Philippines chapter echoed Sunday its Paris head office’s call for a cessation of hostilities in the Gaza strip amid the humanitarian crisis brought about by three weeks of intense fighting.
In an interview on Sunday, Jesus Varela, director general of ICC Philippines, said the multinational business organization is firmly behind the United Nations (UN) General Assembly resolution calling for a “humanitarian ceasefire” between Israel and Hamas.
“Of course, we support the resolution (for a ceasefire). Aside from the suffering it has caused civilians there (Gaza strip), prospects that the war will escalate and spread throughout the region is making world markets jittery. Look at how international oil prices are going up,” Varela told the Philippine News Agency.
The ICC, whose membership spans over 100 countries and whose mission is to help businesses trade internationally with greater ease, currently has an observer status at the UN.
On Friday, the 193-member UN General Assembly adopted the resolution by a vote of 120-14 with 45 abstentions.
The non-binding resolution calling for a “humanitarian truce” between clashing Israeli forces and Hamas militants in Gaza marked the UN’s first official response to the war.
Varela, at the same time, agreed with Israeli ambassador to Manila Illan Fluss' earlier statement that the ongoing crisis in the Middle East would only have little effect on the fast-growing bilateral trade between the Philippines and the Jewish state.
The Israeli diplomat on Friday told reporters in Manila that the movement of people and goods into and out of his country remains uninterrupted by the ongoing crisis.
However, Varela explained that protracted fighting in Gaza, which threatens to draw other countries into the conflict, will eventually take its toll on the broader economy.
“I think that it is time for sobriety to return. Israel has already proven its military superiority, and it has successfully avenged its citizens who were killed in the Hamas attack (on Oct. 7). Peace is the best course of action at this point. It will ease the suffering of many… and put the business sector’s minds at ease,” he emphasized.
Despite the Gaza crisis, Varela said he remains optimistic that Israel’s role in the Philippine economy, especially its information and communications technology (ICT) sector, will continue to grow in the coming years.
Israel’s economic and commercial mission to the Philippines estimated that bilateral trade in both goods and services was higher than USD534 million in 2022, which it called “a record high” in the two countries’ 65-year trade relations.
In June, Yael Ravia-Zadok, head of the Economic Affairs Division at the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, expressed optimism that Manila-Tel Aviv bilateral trade will hit USD1 billion by 2024, driven by investments in agriculture, water management and tourism. (PNA)
