SPECIAL Advisor to the Prime Minister of Japan Dr. Mori Masafumi renewed the Japanese government’s commitment to development cooperation with the Philippines during the 13th Philippines-Japan High-Level Meeting of the Joint Committee on Infrastructure Development and Economic Cooperation, held on November 4, 2022 in Ayuntamiento de Manila.
“Let me emphasize that this administration’s commitment to the Philippines remains unchanged under the Marcos presidency,” said Dr. Mori in his welcoming remarks.
Japan is the Philippines’ number one official development assistance (ODA) partner, whose support has contributed to projects in infrastructure development, investment readiness, disaster risk mitigation and management, food security, education, health, maritime safety, and peace and development in Mindanao.
“The Philippines and Japan have built strong economic, political, and cultural ties that span generations. We are grateful for the unrelenting support of the Japanese government to the Philippines’ development agenda over the years,” said Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno, who chaired the high-level meeting.
Since 2017, the Governments of Japan and the Philippines have cooperated on the timely implementation of major infrastructure projects such as the North-South Commuter Railway Projects and the Metro Manila Subway Project Phase I.
The Japanese government has followed through on the completion and inauguration of ten (10) loan-assisted projects from the previous administration amounting to PHP93.071 billion or the equivalent of USD1.58 billion.
In his presentation, Secretary Diokno briefed the Japanese government delegation on the Philippines’ Medium-Term Fiscal Framework, which outlines the government’s plan to reduce the fiscal deficit, promote fiscal sustainability, and enable robust economic growth.
He shared that the Philippines will focus on high public infrastructure spending to stimulate growth, maintaining expenditure at 5 to 6 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) annually.
National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Undersecretary Joseph Capuno added, “To meet the infrastructure spending requirements, this administration aims to carry out a more holistic approach by encouraging more solicited Public-Private Partnership [PPP] infrastructure projects, and provide support to local government units to effectively increase their share in infrastructure spending.”
