Manila, London pursuing SDG collaboration

The country's Budget chief is pursuing collaboration with United Kingdom Ambassador to the Philippines Laure Beaufils to attain the country's sustainable development goals.

On Saturday, Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman met with the British Ambassador at the Department of Budget and Management office in San Miguel, Manila, where the two discussed collaborations towards economic development, particularly in the Bangsamoro government.

On a social media post, Pangandaman said she is optimistic about her next meeting with the UK ambassador to discuss ways to improve access to climate finance and bring progress to the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

"Thank you Ambassador Laure Beaufils for visiting DBM. I look forward to our collaborations for sustainable development, continuing our conversation on access to climate finance, and to forging pathways, as Mindanao develops, to uplift the lives of the people in BARMM," she wrote.

In September, Beaufils disclosed that the British International Investment will pour in £500 million in Southeast Asia for the next five years.

She noted that the Philippines is one of the group's "three focus countries."

Beaufils said economic development, maritime cooperation, climate change adaptation, and technology would serve as pillars of the Philippine-UK relationship under the administration of President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.

The diplomat affirmed that the UK will continue to work with the Philippines on maintaining peace and stability in the region, including on maritime law and maritime domain awareness.

Aside from this, the Budget Secretary also met with New Zealand Ambassador Peter Kell last Thursday to tackle possible cooperation in several industries.

"I am specifically interested in how to forge collaboration with New Zealand's G2G (government-to-government) facility to move forward with our public sector and governance reforms," Pangandaman wrote in another social media post.

Pangandaman said she discussed with Kell the Marcos administration's eight-point socioeconomic agenda and priorities, including the implementation of full devolution of basic services and facilities from the national government to local government units.

According to the DBM, Kell expressed New Zealand's support in the ongoing peace process in BARMM by providing livelihood and helping the indigenous communities here.