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By APD writer Melo M. Acuña
MANILA Top-level Philippine and Japanese officials met in Hakone, Japan last Friday, December 6, and discussed the existing partnership between the two countries to boost the infrastructure projects under “Build, Build, Build” program.
In a statement released today, the Department of Finance said Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III led the Philippine delegation to the 9th High-Level Meeting of the Philippines-Japan Joint Commission on Infrastructure Development and Economic Cooperation. The two countries also touched on Japan’s support for the Mindanao Peace Process.
Dr. Hiroto Izumi, Special Advisor to Japan Prime Minister Shinzō Abe, led the Japanese delegation. He said the meeting hopes to further enrich the cooperation program between the two countries and closely monitor the progress of projects for bilateral cooperation.
Secretary Dominguez said the sectoral cooperation also include disaster risk management due to the increasingly frequent natural disasters.
Hakone, the venue for this year’s meeting is still recovering from the onslaught of Typhoon “Hagibis” which struck last October while the Philippines’ southern island of Mindanao suffered from a series of harmful earthquakes.
The Philippines acknowledged the technical assistance provided by Japan in the “Build, Build, Build” projects as well as its commitment to extend increase technical assistance that are critical to the country’s campaign to bridge the infrastructure financing gap.
They also talked about the loan financing arrangements for the Philippines as it transitions to Upper Middle Income Country (UMIC) status way ahead of schedule in 2020.
The two sides also welcomed the progress of the railway projects in the Philippines that the Duterte administration has begun implementing in cooperation with Japan.
“We are also starting to see the development of our cooperation from planning to the actual construction of our big-ticket projects like the Metro Manila Subway Project, and the ADB-co-financed North-South Commuter Railway Project,” Secretary Dominguez said during their meeting.
He added the two countries are prepared to sign the JPY4.409 billion supplemental loan agreement for Metro Manila Priority Seismic Bridge Improvement project in the coming months.
(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)
