21 February 2014 - The Philippines hosted the 4th Philippines-Australia Ministerial Meeting (PAMM) in Manila on 20-21 February 2014. The PAMM sets the direction and vision of Philippines-Australia bilateral relations and serves as the forum to discuss initiatives and activities to strengthen the bilateral partnership.
Secretary of Foreign Affairs Albert F. del Rosario and Secretary of Trade and Investment Gregory L. Domingo met with their counterparts, Minister for Foreign Affairs Julie Bishop and Minister for Trade and Investment Andrew Robb, and discussed issues of mutual interest, and various political and economic developments in the region. The Ministers affirmed their commitment to strengthen Philippines-Australia bilateral ties, specifically in the areas of political consultations and dialogue, trade and investment promotion, and people-to-people exchanges.
The Ministers also met with high-level business delegations from Australia and the Philippines and expressed the importance of private sector engagement in moving the relations forward.
The Secretary took the opportunity to convey the Philippines’ appreciation and gratitude for the generous assistance extended by Australia following the devastation of super typhoon Yolanda. He also thanked Australia for the development cooperation amounting to AU$170.1 million for 2014 in terms of grant aid to education, climate change adaptation and disaster mitigation, and peace and stability in Mindanao.
The ministers agreed on holding the 2nd Strategic Dialogue and the 4th round of Bilateral Consultations on Counter-Terrorism.
Australia is the Philippines’ largest source of official development assistance grants, with proposed expenditures in 2013-2014 set at AU$170.1 million. It is also one of the first countries to provide aid in response to Yolanda, offering AU$40 million disbursed to various United Nation agencies and non-government organization.
The next PAMM will be hosted by Australia in 2016. END
