BRUSSELS: The European Union and the Philippines announced the resumption of negotiations for a free trade agreement on Monday, with Brussels saying the first round of talks should begin “later this year”.

“The conditions are right to take our trade relations to the next level,” EU trade commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said at a press conference in Brussels. Talks began in 2015 under then-Philippine president Benigno Aquino but stalled two years later under his successor Rodrigo Duterte, whose deadly drug war strained diplomatic relations with the West and sparked an international probe.

The two sides announced their intention to reopen negotiations during a visit to Manila by EU chief Ursula von der Leyen last year.

The Southeast Asian nation, which depends heavily on trade with China, says it wants to expand its economic relations with other countries to achieve greater “resiliency”.