A CABINET-LEVEL delegation led by Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III will visit Tokyo next week to discuss with Japanese officials a prospective list of big-ticket infrastructure projects that could be built in partnership with Japan.
Finance said in a statement Friday the discussions would take place during the March 27 to 28 session, the first to be held under the Joint Committee on Philippines-Japan Infrastructure and Economic Cooperation. It follows the successful official visit of President Rodrigo Duterte to Japan last year and the reciprocal visit made by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to the Philippines in January.
Abe in his visit to Duterte’s home city of Davao two months ago committed one trillion yen in official development assistance and investments to the Philippines within the next five years.
Hiroto Izumi, the special advisor to Abe, sent a formal invitation to the joint committee meeting to Dominguez. Izumi asked Dominguez to co-chair the joint committee with him.
Other Filipino officials in the delegation are Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, Secretaries Mark Villar of the Department of Public Works and Highways, Benjamin Diokno of the Department of Budget and Management, Alfonso Cusi of the Department of Energy and Ernesto Pernia of the National Economic and Development Authority.
Joining the group are Vivencio Dizon, president and CEO of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority; Undersecretary Cesar Chavez of the Department of Transportation; and Charge d’Affaires Eduardo Martin Meñez of the Philippine Embassy in Tokyo.
“The delegation is expected to present the Philippines’ medium-term development plan and update Japanese officials on the country’s macroeconomic situation during the joint committee meeting,” Finance said.
“This team is expected to discuss a potential list of Philippine infrastructure projects for possible Japanese financing with high-ranking officials of the Japan International Cooperation Agency and the Japan Ministries of Foreign Affairs; Health, Labor and Welfare; Finance; Economy, Trade and Industry; Internal Affairs and Communications; Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries; and Land Infrastructure and Transport,” it said.