The Philippines and Australia recently reaffirmed their commitment to maintaining strong relations, according to the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).
NEDA said it hosted the first Philippines-Australia High-Level Consultations on Development on Feb. 18 at the NEDA Central Office in Mandaluyong City to discuss development priorities between the two countries.
Launched in October 2024, the commitment to conduct the consultation was reaffirmed under the Philippines-Australia Development Partnership Plan (DPP) 2024-2029, which outlines agreed-upon objectives and guides cooperation in key areas such as peacebuilding, civil maritime cooperation, strategic economic reform, skills development and education, social protection, and disaster and climate resilience.
The NEDA said the consultation also focused on updates on the ongoing programs and initiatives under the Philippines-Australia DPP 2024-2029.
During the meeting, NEDA Undersecretary for Investment Programming Joseph Capuno cited the importance of enhancing collaboration across various sectors and highlighted several opportunities to further strengthen the development partnership between the two governments.
He also highlighted the role of the private sector in infrastructure development, particularly in investments and financing, by providing technical assistance to bolster the Philippines' capacity to design, implement, and manage public-private partnerships for large-scale infrastructure projects effectively.
During the consultation, Capuno also addressed climate resilience, noting that the Philippines is vulnerable to natural disasters like typhoons.
He cited the need to strengthen advocacy for loss and damage, particularly for the fair and transparent use of funds to support communities in the agriculture sector affected by climate change.
“Each year, the Philippines faces an average of 20 typhoons. While we have made progress in lowering fatalities through early evacuations when warnings are given, we are still focused on improving our efforts to reduce the damage caused by these storms,” he said.
In trade and investments, particularly environmental, social, and governance investments in responsible mining, Capuno underscored the need to harness the Philippines' mining potential.
“But, first, we must work on our mining policies. In Australia, you found a way to minimize the damage to the environment and the indigenous people. We need these inputs particularly on existing technology, to be reflected in our own policies moving forward,” Capuno said.
PIXABAY PHOTO
