24 June 2014 - Dr. Kandeh K. Yumkella, the Special Representative of the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General on Sustainable Energy for All (SE4All) and Executive Officer to the SE4All Initiative, met on June 16 with Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Undersecretary Linglingay Lacanlale, along with representatives from the DFA-Office of the Undersecretary for International Economic Relations (OUIER) and Office of the United Nations and Other International Organizations (UNIO), to discuss the work program of the SE4All Initiative.
Dr. Kandeh Yumkella visited the country on official travel to attend the 9th Asia Energy Forum in Manila, but seized the opportunity to discuss with the Philippine government SE4All Initiative’s activities in promoting energy access, renewable energy, and energy efficiency.
Dr. Yumkella emphasized that energy is not merely a utility and supply, but a “golden thread” that interweaves human development topics such as health, public security, food security, employment creation, and growth.
In the case of the Philippines, energy has multiple enabling dimensions that prove vital to the country’s development goals and priorities. Through proper utilization of energy, the Philippines can address longstanding issues, such as high electricity cost, poverty, maternal and infant mortality and unemployment. END