Manila, May 23 : The Philippines is pursuing the resumption of free trade negotiations with the EU, Philippine Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual said. During a meeting, Pascual told members of the EU-ASEAN Business Council (EU-ABC) on Monday about his country's intention to return to the negotiating table over the Philippines-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA). Pascual said an FTA with the EU will help the Philippines secure additional duty-free market access, and provide a conducive framework for attracting more significant investments from the EU, Xinhua news agency reported. He also highlighted the government's efforts to facilitate international partnerships and collaboration through the recently-ratified Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement that will encourage foreign direct investment inflows. "I'd like to reemphasise our growth strategy centred around enhancing trade and investment. Our objective is to foster job creation and poverty reduction by uplifting the global position of our export sectors and driving investments into strategic areas," Pascual added. The EU-ABC, a major voice of European businesses in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region, comprises nine European Chambers of Commerce in Southeast Asia and major European multinational corporations across multiple sectors such as manufacturing, services, healthcare and logistics. /IANS