Philippines Highlights Partnership with International Seabed Authority on Capacity Development 

(Department of Foreign Affairs Maritime and Ocean Affairs Office Mr. Kirstoff Ocampo, ISA National Focal Point for Capacity Development, shares the recent collaboration between the Philippines and ISA)

MANILA 20 November 2023 – The DFA-Maritime and Ocean Affairs Office (DFA-MOAO), represented by Kirstoff Ocampo, the Philippine Focal for Capacity Development, joined the 3rd Annual meeting of the National Focal Points (NAFOPs) in charge of liaising with the ISA Secretariat on matters relating to capacity development (ISA-NAFOP-CD) on the evening of 14 November 2023.  The meeting was held via videoconference. 

Mr. Ocampo reported on the capacity development collaborations between the Philippines and ISA, and conveyed the country’s appreciation in particular on the ISA-Philippines national capacity development workshop on deep-sea related matters held from 09-11 October 2023 in Manila, which brought together a diverse group of government officials, experts, academics, civil society and industry representatives to explore and discuss critical topics related to deep-sea exploration and mining, facilitating a discussion with the ISA from a developing country perspective with a focus on the specific PH interests.

The Philippines also conveyed appreciation for the opportunities given to the nine (9) Filipino candidates selected for ISA training in 2023 and highlighted that eight (8) of the nine (9) selected are women scientists and researchers from the Philippines. The Philippines now has a total of eighteen (18) beneficiaries of the capacity building programs of ISA since the start of the contractor training program.

ISA is an autonomous international organization mandated by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea to protect the seabed for the shared benefit of humankind. The Philippines looks forward to continued engagement with the ISA as the country crafts its policies and considers legislation on the deep sea bed. END