Japan and the Philippines have successfully concluded the 11th High-Level Joint Committee Meeting on Infrastructure Development and Economic Cooperation.
In the virtual meeting on Wednesday, officials of both countries applauded the significant developments attained in ongoing joint infrastructure projects and pandemic-response cooperation measures, arising from the meetings they held in the past few years.
Among the big-ticket projects covered by the Philippines-Japan engagements include the Metro Manila Subway rolling stock contract signing, LRT-2 extension, Parañaque Spillway Flood Control Feasibility Study, COVID-19 Crisis Response Emergency Support Loan, Post-Disaster Standby Loan Phase 2, AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine provision, and cold chain facility development for the vaccination rollout.
Dr. Izumi Hiroto, Special Advisor to the Prime Minister of Japan, also hailed the completion of the one trillion yen (about P476 billion) public and private financing commitment to the Philippines made by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2017.
Completed in less than five years, the Abe financing commitment was capped with the signing of the Exchange of Notes for the second phase of the Metro Manila Subway Project on July 27, 2021.
Besides Hiroto, among those who participated in the virtual meeting were Ambassador Koshikawa Kazuhiko, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez, and Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua.
The High-Level Joint Committee Meeting between Japan and the Philippines has been conducted biannually since the start of the Duterte administration.
It serves as a venue for both countries to take stock of the progress made in accordance with the “Joint Statement on Bilateral Cooperation for the Next Five Years” issued in October 2017.
Earlier, Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide and President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday celebrated the 65th Anniversary of Japan-Philippines Friendship Day, with the Japanese leader saying that the legacy of this alliance will provide momentum for further deepening relations between the two countries.
The Prime Minister said that as a huge supporter of the “Build, Build, Build” program, Japan has been a reliable partner of the Philippines through public and private sector engagement.
Among the major undertakings of such partnership is the Metro Manila Subway Project, the country’s first-ever subway line that will soon serve many Filipinos.