RP, Poland sign

RP, Poland sign accords to boost ties

PHILIPPINES: Prime Minister Marek Belka of Poland and Philippines President Gloria Arroyo oversaw the signing on Wednesday of agreements to expand ties between their countries and for a Polish firm to upgrade a Philippines railway system.

Belka's two-day state trip was the first by a Polish head of government to this country, the Philippine government said.

The leaders witnessed the signing of an agreement between the heads of Poland's BUMAR Group Co. Ltd. and the state-run Philippine National Railways about the upgrading of a railway line on Luzon island.

BUMAR is to prepare a feasibility study and "endeavor to provide project financing" for the planned work, officials said.

The foreign ministries of the two countries also signed an agreement, pledging to hold political consultations every two years to identify ways to improve relations between their countries.

Bilateral trade stood at US$14.75 million in 2004, the Philippine government said.

While there is virtually no Polish investment in the Philippines, a Philippine port-handling company, International Container Terminal Services Inc., invested $100 million in the Polish port city of Gdynia in 2003. -- AFP