The Secretary of the Department of Agriculture of the Republic of the Philippines and the Minister for Agriculture and Food of the French Republic, hereafter referred to as the "Parties",

BUILDING on the Joint Economic Committee established between the French Republic and the Republic of the Philippines,

CONSIDERING the strategies and priorities of the Parties and in particular the importance of developing a sustainable and satisfactory agricultural production in terms of both quantity and quality,

REAFFIRMING the principle of strong agricultural policies .as essential to food security, economic prosperity and sustainability, particularly in rural areas,

RECOGNIZING the opportunity to promote diversity and quality of food products to ensure food safety and balanced nutrition for consumers,

CONSIDERING the need to promote trade in agricultural, fishery and food products based on international sanitary and phyto-sanitary standards, adopted by the World Organization for Animal Health, the International Plant Protection Convention and the Codex Alimentarius Commission,

DESIRING to develop, based on reciprocity and mutual interest, cooperation and exchanges between the competent authorities of the Parties and their respective scientific, technical and training institutions operating in the field of agriculture, and

RECOGNIZING the respective skills, know-hows and potentials of the Parties that exist in this field,

Have agreed as follows:

Article 1 - Scope of application

The Parties agree to strengthen, within their scope of competence, their communication and cooperation in areas of common interest and in particular:

• promotion of food products diversity and quality (including through geographical indications);
  
• development of public policies regarding food safety, especially in areas of institutional organization, capacity building and human resources training;
  
• development of the livestock sector, notably through technical and economic exchanges (notably animal nutrition and genetics) between the stakeholders of the livestock industry of the Parties;
  
• promotion of sustainable agricultural practices (including agro-ecology and permaculture) through technical and technology support to preserve soil and water resources, protect biodiversity, and provide instruments to adapt and mitigate the impacts of climate change;
  
• exchanges of information, with SEMMARIS (company in charge of the management of the wholesale market of Paris-Rungis), for the creation of a wholesale agricultural products and food market in Clark Green City, notably for the implementation of a feasibility study;
  
• structuring, organization and modernization of agricultural commodity chains (including strengthening of the cold chain);
  
• sanitary and phyto-sanitary issues to facilitate trade;
  
• laboratory capacity building: physical design of laboratories and development, optimization and validation of tests and methods for the detection and genetic characterization of pathogens (particularly for animal diseases pathogens); and
  
• provision of training and expertise to develop Chambers of Agriculture and cooperative systems in the Philippines.

Specific technical cooperation projects are to be jointly developed and implemented by the Parties.

Article 2 - Cooperation Implementation

 The Secretary of the Department of Agriculture of the Republic of the Philippines designates the International Affairs Division of the Policy Research Service as its contact point. The Minister for Agriculture and Food of the French Republic designates the European and International Affairs Department as its contact point.

The Parties agree to establish a Joint Agricultural Steering Committee (hereinafter, referred to as "the Committee") to implement this administrative arrangement.

The Minister for Agriculture and Food of the French Republic may notably rely on the Institut Agronomique, Veterinaire et Forestier de France (IAVFF - consortium of key agencies of research, development and higher education in the agronomic, veterinary and forestry field in France), the public interest group ADECIA, France Veterinaire International (FVI) and the public establishment FranceAgriMer (FAM) for cooperation actions falling within their respective areas of competence.

The Parties, through the Committee, shall specifically state the objectives for each of the areas of cooperation mentioned in article 1.

The Parties undertake to facilitate the linkages between relevant organizations, companies and key stakeholders of the two countries in each of the above- mentioned areas of cooperation.

Article 3 - Conditions of application and amendment

All actions taken pursuant to this administrative arrangement are limited to the budgetary and human resources that the Parties have at their disposal annually for their day-to-day operations. They must comply with domestic legislative and regulatory provisions applicable to them. Each action is subject to a detailed financing plan, defined on a case-by-case basis, before the start of the implementation of the action under review, in which the financial participation of each Party is clearly specified.

The provisions of this administrative arrangement may be amended by mutual consent of the Parties.

This administrative arrangement neither influences nor affects the rights and obligations contracted by one of the Parties to a third party.

This administrative arrangement can give rise, when necessary, to the signing of further implementing agreements between counterparts.

Article 4 - Cooperation follow up and coordination

The Parties shall ensure regular monitoring of the actions implemented under this administrative arrangement, which may be updated periodically by the Parties.

The Parties shall meet once every two (2) years to review their cooperation, alternately in France and in the Philippines.

Article 5 - Dispute settlement

 Any dispute concerning the interpretation or implementation of this administrative arrangement shall be resolved amicably through consultations or negotiations between the Parties.

Article 6 - Entry into force, duration and termination

This administrative arrangement shall enter into force on the date of its signing.

This administrative arrangement shall be effective for five (5) years, and shall be automatically renewed for a similar period, unless a Party officially notifies the other Party in writing of its intention to suspend or terminate it. In such a case, the suspension or termination of this administrative arrangement take effect sixty (60) days after the date of receipt of the written notification.

The termination of this administrative arrangement shall not affect the implementation of any ongoing actions, activities or projects, unless the Parties mutually decide otherwise.

Signed in Manila, this 26^th day of September 2017, in two original copies, in French and English languages, both texts being equally authentic.

Entry into Force: September 26, 2017

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