February 21, 2025 – The Philippines and Australia have reaffirmed their commitment to maintaining strong relations, cementing a legacy of over 50 years of development cooperation rooted in shared values of democracy, regional security, and economic partnership, according to the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).

In collaboration with the Australian government, NEDA hosted the first Philippines-Australia High-Level Consultations on Development on Tuesday (February 18) at the NEDA Central Office in Mandaluyong City. The consultation focused on shared development priorities between the two countries, specifically updates on the pipeline and ongoing programs and initiatives under the Philippines-Australia Development Partnership Plan (DPP) 2024-2029.

During the meeting, NEDA Undersecretary for Investment Programming Joseph J. Capuno emphasized the importance of enhancing collaboration across various sectors and highlighted several opportunities to further strengthen the development partnership between the two governments.

He cited the critical 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.

Capuno addressed climate resilience, pointing out the country’s vulnerability to natural disasters like typhoons. He emphasized the importance of strengthening 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 added.

In trade and investments, particularly environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investments in responsible mining, Capuno emphasized 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,” he stressed.

The high-level consultation marked another significant milestone in a robust partnership. Officials reaffirmed the need to strengthen development collaboration to shape future joint efforts.

Launched in October 2024, the commitment to conduct this consultation was reaffirmed under the Philippines-Australia 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.

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